Akakitsune
by sinisteruto
Summary: Naruto defects from Konoha and eventually forms Akakitsune, an organisation with two main goals, to destroy the Akatsuki, and to destroy Konoha. Dark Naruto. Fu/Naru/Yaku harem
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto or any other series that might be used for inspiration.

**Chapter 1**

_**The Mystery that is Uzumaki Naruto**_

_'Naruto, what is going on with you, why do I have this ominous feeling everytime your name comes into mind.' _Tsunade thought with concern, vigorously bitting on the nail on her right thumb in frustration, a habit she had picked up since even before her genin days.

It was only yesterday in the late afternoon that Jiraiya and Naruto had returned, and everything had looked perfectly normal. Sure, Naruto had grown a lot taller and his physical conditioning had visibly improved to a great extent. Sure, he had changed his outfit, now wearing a black sleeveless top, black shinobi pants, white bandages around his ankles, blue ninja sandals and a red hoari with black flames licking the bottom edges. Yes, Tsunade had realised immediately that Naruto had grown up a bit, both physically and mentally, but still, it had seemed that both Jiraiya and Naruto hadn't changed that much to her, at least, not personality wise. had prepared for this day beforehand, she and everyone else who knew about his return had been excited to see just how much the blonde Uzumaki had grown over the last two and a half years. That was why Tsunade had prepared this particular test, she'd intended for Sakura and Naruto to team up against Kakashi as a test of their skill and development.

It came as a bit of a surprise when Naruto insisted on taking Kakashi on his own, but after regaining her barrings, Tsunade had realized that it wasn't entirely out of character for Naruto to get carried away like that, after all, this was the same person who had challenged a sannin, namely, herself to a death match even though he had been nothing but a rooky genin at the time. Naturally, Sakura had been disappointed that Naruto didn't want her involved, perceiving the situation as if Naruto thought that she was still the weak little girl from three years ago who would only get in his way or get herself killed. This served to infuriate her and lash out violently at the blonde Uzumaki.

That's when things started to get strange, the old Naruto would have taken the beating and grovelled at the pink haired chuunin's feet, pleading for forgiveness and even asking her out on a date right after the assault on his person. But this Naruto only dodged her attack, formed an instant, one handed rasengan, and directed it towards his medic teammate's face, stopping the spiraling sphere an inch away from her nose, all in an instant. He'd followed that up by threatening her with death should she ever attack him again, quoting that attacking a fellow Konoha shinobi without just cause was in violation of shinobi regulations and could be punishable by death. All of this said with a unerving calm and dangerous tone, leaving almost no doubt that the fifteen year old had every intention of following through with his threat should Sakura assault him again.

That's when Tsunade had realised that something was horribly wrong, she'd dismissed everyone, even Shizune and Jiraiya so that she can have a private word with Naruto. It didn't sit well with her that her apprentice had almost died right in front of her eyes, almost killed by her own surrogate brother, who was actually a real blood relative to her, even though he did not know it, or so she thought. Naruto had simply told her that he no longer harboured any romantic feelings for her apprentice and didn't feel like he needed or wanted to tolerate her abuse anymore. Stating that he loved another woman and had every intention of persueing a relationship with her. Naturally, Tsunade wanted to know who this woman was and even found herself angry at Naruto for loving another woman that wasn't her apprentice. Part of the reason she had trained Sakura was because he practically begged her to help Sakura, and because she herself thought that they might have a future together. Also, she now saw Sakura as more than a student, but almost like her own daughter, so for Naruto to blatantly disregard her like that really pissed her off.

However, the blonde Uzumaki would have none of it, making it clear that he would not be forced into a relationship with someone he didn't love nor would he even pretend to love her. The blonde Uzumaki was even bold enough to outright tell the Hokage that who he loved or who he had a relationship with was none of her business, leaving a frustrated and pissed off Tsunade to try and figure out on her own who this mysterious woman was. Of course, her first guess was Hinata, maybe Naruto had finally realised how much the shy Hyuga heiress loved and admired him and subsequently returned her feelings, it was the only person she could think of right now.

In any case, Naruto's romantic affairs were soon proven to be the least of her concerns, a conversation with Jiraiya, where she had consulted him with the hopes of finding out what really happened in that two and a half year training trip would reveal something far more troubling than the blonde Uzumaki's love affairs, something possibly even more troubling than the Akatsuki and it's movements, at least, it seemed like it was to her and even Jiraiya.

Apparently, Jiraiya only met Naruto yesterday afternoon at the main gate for the first time in 26 months. According to Jiraiya, Naruto disappeared without a trace four months into their training trip, leaving no trail to follow and not even leaving a note or a sign of any sort behind as re-assurance. Naturally, Tsunade wanted to know how a relatively inexperienced genin could not only escape a spymaster sannin, but to continously elude him for more than two years. Jiraiya stated that he did not know how Naruto did it exactly, but did mention the possibility that Naruto had somehow found another summoning contract. This Jiraiya said was because Naruto's name had disappeared from not only the toad registration list, but even from the summoning contract itself. He explained that if his name had simply disappeared from the register, than it could have been reasonably assumed that Akatsuki captured him and killed him during or after the bijuu extraction, but because it also disappeared from the contract itself, than it meant that Naruto actually cancelled the toad summoning contract by signing another contract. In which case, it would also explain why he was able to disappear without a trace, he probably escaped through a space-time technique, namely, a reverse summoning technique, making it impossible to track down his whereabouts, especially without knowledge of which summoning creatures he was currently aligned with.

Jiraiya also stated that Naruto probably timed their reunion so that they could meet specifically at the main gate so that he wouldn't have a chance to interogate him about his whereabouts and activities during their seperation. He also mentioned that Naruto had not once refered to him as 'sensei' or 'shishio' since they reunited and rather used honorifics such as 'dono' or 'sama', theorising that Naruto no longer considered him to be his sensei and that the cancellation of the toad contract was symbolic of Naruto breaking away from any connections with him. Jiraiya also noted that it was possible that Naruto no longer held onto any bond that the two of them might have shared before their departure, as Naruto no longer used the affectionate nickname 'ero-sennin' to adress him anymore.

The only thing that Jiraiya was able to ascertain without a doubt was that, if Naruto indeed spent all his time in the summoning realm, than he would have had special training from his new summoners and was bound to be much stronger than he was before they split apart. Also, Jiraiya theorised that Naruto was smarter and alot more manipulative than he seemed, stating that Naruto probably knew that his pride as a sannin and an elite shinobi wouldn't allow him to immediately report his failure, also, Naruto probably thought that Jiraiya would rely on his spy network and his own espionage skills to track him down instead of reporting back to Konoha, giving him ample time to do whatever it is that he wanted to do in the two and a half year timeframe. Jiraiya also pointed out that another reason for meeting up with him just before he reached Konoha, was possibly because Naruto was hoping that he would be too scared to tell her what happened and rather keep it a secret for his own sake, basically, to avoid a beating from her, and to protect his own reputation.

Needless to say, both Jiraiya and Tsunade found themselves having to re-think and re-evaluate every interaction they had with Naruto prior to his departure to try and figure out which parts were lies and which parts were Naruto's real character, as they realised that they might actually know nothing at all about who he really is and what he what he is capable of. In any case, Tsunade decided to invite the whole Konoha 10 to watch Naruto's battle with Kakashi. She wanted to see how he interacted with his old friends and she also wanted to question each and everyone of them after the battle. Maybe they, as his friends would be able to read his character, or to ascertain if there really was something wrong with him, their testimonies would come in handy.

As expected, all of them were more than eager to see how much the blonde Uzumaki had improved over the last two and a half years, some were just generally excited to see him again. That was perhaps why there was a full house attendance at team 7's training grounds.

"You've caused quite a bit of a stir since your return Naruto, everyone of your friends has come here just to see how much you have developed over the passed two and a half years. However, you're in way over your head if you think you can beat me on your own, Naruto...you're seriously underestimating me!" Kakashi said with a deadly glare, his single visible eye, his right eye, narrowing at the blonde with intensity.

"Kakashi, I would suggest that you you use your sharingan from the beginning, otherwise, this battle will not be worth my time...that is to say, if you wish to survive this battle, you will take this seriously. I'm only going to give you this curtousy once, in the end, whether to heed my warning or not is entirely up to you." Naruto said stoicly.

_'He's completely different from the Naruto from before, perhaps yesterday's incident with Sakura was not an isolated incident after all.' _Kakashi thought wearily.

_'Also, he's had special one on one training from one of the sannin for two and half years, I suppose he's right in one thing, I shouldn't underestimate him.' _Kakashi thought.

In all honesty though, Kakashi didn't underestimate any opponent anymore, not since he was easily captured in Zabuza's water prison three years ago, he'd learned his lesson back than, nothing teaches you a good lesson than someone humiliating you in front of your own students. Just because he hadn't revealed his sharingan yet did not mean that he was underestimating his opponent, what he was actually trying to do was to gather intel about his opponent. The old Naruto would have, just like this one, taken the lack of sharingan use as if he was being looked down upon, except, whereas the old Naruto would have had a fit about it and insisted that Kakashi use his sharingan while being distracted and consequently making silly mistakes as a result, this one was rather apethetic about it and didn't really seem to care weather the sharingan was used against him or not. He also seemed much more focussed and didn't seem to be the type to become easily distracted from his goal, not to mention how much less vocal he appeared to be compared to his old self.

_'However, nothing has been proven yet, lets see how long he can keep this up.' _Kakashi thought with a mixture of mischief and analytic prowess.

"Well, I'm not really sure anymore if you're just underestimating me, or overesting yourself, but I guess we'll find out soon enough. In any case, the same rules as the last time are still in effect. You have to get the two bells on my waist before the dawn. Remember...if you don't attack with the intent to kill, than you'll never be able to defeat me!" Kakashi said with the utmost seriousness as his chakra and killing intent flared up in anticipation of the battle to come, Naruto mimicking him as well in preparation for battle, his chakra flaring up and his intent to murder spiking up rapidly. The energy released by the two shinobi was so intense that a ominous breeze picked up all of a sudden around the training ground, causing dust and leaves to levitate and move around the battleground.

_'Chakra and killing intent can be a good way to judge a shinobi's skill and focus, if this is anything to go by,than...nani...!' _Kakashi trailed off in surprise as a gigantic and round shadow came over and around him, getting larger and larger in every split second that went by. The copy nin's head snapped up immediately, so fast that it almost looked like his neck had dislocated from its position temporarily. There was no way to describe the copy nin's emotional state as a reaction to what his lone eye perceived, if he wasn't mistaken, than what he saw could only be described as a rasengan fifty times the size of a normal rasengan, if not even bigger than that. It was so large that he couldn't even see anything else but a gigantic spiraling sphere, the jutsu filling up his entire line of sight in a sea of spiralling blue.

**"Cho Oodama Rasengan!" **Kakashi heard in a voice that he recognised as belonging to Naruto, of course, he couldn't actually see the caster of the jutsu behind that monstrously huge sphere, but it was a safe bet to say that Naruto was at the other end of the sphere's circumference, a sphere that was on a crash collision course with him at devastating speed.

"Shit!" Kakashi exclaimed, using the shunshin technique to propel himself forward in a desperate ploy to evade the attack. Jumping sideways or backwards would not have worked as the ball was too large and coming too fast for him to get away in time, a shunshin technique was the only way out, but shunshining backwards or sideways was not possible, at least not at the speed required to evade the oncoming technique, leaving Kakashi with only the option of travelling in a straight forward line as a means of escape.

_'So predictable.' _Naruto thought neutrally, although, a little surprised at how Kakashi easily fell for his trap, because, in that instant that Kakashi took his eyes away from him to look at his clone's aerial assault, Naruto had instantly created a shadow clone, grabbed it by its left arm while the clone formed an instant rasengan on its right arm, and thrown it violently in the direction that he accurately predicted that Kakashi would use to escape his technique.

"S-shit!" Kakashi cursed with wide eyes as another Naruto came flying at him at blinding speeds with a rasengan pointed towards his abdomen. Kakashi's own shunshin speed, combined with the clones own flying speed was so much that he had absolutely no time to react at all as the clone crashed into him with devastating effect.

**"Rasengan!" **shadow clone Naruto exclaimed as he rammed the spiraling sphere into the copy ninja's abdomen with all his power before poofing out of existence.

"G-gwaaaaah!" Kakashi cried out in agony as the force of the jutsu blasted him back at incredible speed, all of it happening so fast that he crashed into the side of the giant spiraling sphere that he was originally running away from as it connected with the earth, causing a massive explosion that sent chunks of debris flying all over the battlefield, a giant crater forming where the attack crash landed as the rest of the landscape became concaved and reshaped by the effects of the explosion, destroying the landscape in a manner not too different from the effects of one of Tsunade's super powered punches.

_'A Cho Oodama Rasengan with his own chakra? T-that's impossible! How can he pull of something like that without using sage-mode? I would understand if he was using the Kyubi's chakra, but he wasn't even using that!" _Jiraiya thought, eyes wide in shock and disbelief.

"Jiraiya, is something like that supposed to be possible?" Tsunade demanded, giving the toad sage a look that said 'speak up of else'.

"N-no! It's not supposed to be, I can do it myself too, but only when I enter sage mode. It should be impossible for a human to produce that kind of chakra." Jiraiya answered, now adopting a serious and contemplative expression.

"But Jiraiya-sama, what about that other chakra, couldn't he do it with that?" Shizune asked tentatively.

"He wasn't using any external chakra source, and he certainly wasn't using that other chakra as well, otherwise I would have perceived it with my Byakugan." Neji cut in before Jiraiya could respond, shocking the three elder shinobi considerably, all three looking amongst each other with nervous and questioning expressions.

"I saw it when we fought in the chuunin exams, I obviously went and did my research afterwards. Don't worry, I haven't spoken to anyone except Hiashi-sama about it." Neji said as if talking merely about the day's weather conditions, causing the three elder shinobi to breathe out in relief.

"In any case, Naruto always had a ridiculous amount of chakra density and capacity, also, with my byakugan, I have seen just how abnormal the size of his chakra coils is. Given those three conditions, Naruto should theoretically have the ability to pull something like that off with the correct level of chakra control. Probably, he didn't have the control to do it three years ago, but he certainly does now." Neji explained with the regular Hyuga stoic expression, giving away none of his feelings or emotions regarding the matter.

"But that wasn't even the real Naruto, how can a mere clone pull something like that off?" Shizune wondered out loud.

"I don't think any of you truly understand just how vast Naruto's reserves are, let me put it like this, just pretend that Naruto has unlimited reserves, maybe if you think like that, you might be able to understand a little better." Neji said evenly.

"I see, I guess it does make sense, but how could Naruto have gained such a level of control in such a short space of time? Given how horrible his chakra control was just two years ago, it's quite hard to believe that he could have subdued his chakra to that extent in such a short time span." Tsunade said, bitting, once again on her thumb in concentration and a little frustration.

"I would have thought Jiraiya-sama would have the answer to that, after all, wasn't he the one that was training him for the last two and a half years?" Neji asked retorically.

"..."

"..."

"..."

"I see..." was all the Hyuga genius said as he directed his eyes back to the battlefield, leaving the rest of the Konoha 10, who were listening to the conversation more than a little confused by the words spoken in the relatively short four way conversation.

_'It would seem that my comrades are keeping dangerous secrets to themselves. Shino and even human logic tells me that this is normal behaviour, yet, why am I still surprised? This is completely ilogical, I shouldn't be feeling like this, rather, I should focus on uncovering Naruto's secrets. It will however prove to be a rather difficult task with my destruction bugs' weariness of getting close to Naruto.' _thought an uncharacteristically emotional Shino, feeling slightly hurt that he was seemingly being left out of the loop once again.

_'So I'm not the only one who figured out Naruto's secret about the Kyubi. I suppose this shouldn't be entirely unexpected, Neji is a once in a genration Hyuga genius after all. Also, he's actually had a direct confrontation with the Kyubi's power and chakra before, it was only a matter of time before he figured it out.' _Shikamaru thought.

_'I don't know what's going exactly, but I'm smelling foul play everywhere around me. Something big is about to happen, I can feel it, my instincts are going haywire!' _Kiba thought wearily.

_'What the hell are they talking about? And how the hell does Neji know what's going on? And more importantly, Naruto...' _Sakura trailed off with a worried expression as she trained her eyes back on the battlefield, an ominous feeling settling at the pit of her stomach not unlike the one she had on the days preceding Sasuke's departure, a feeling that had her on the verge of tears instantly.

_'No! I can't think like that! Naruto would never do that...would he?' _thought Sakura, the memory of Naruto almost blasting her head off with a rasengan flashing in front of her eyes suddenly.

_'No! He promised he'd return Sasuke-kun to me! Naruto never goes back on his word! Naruto would never leave his friends behind, he wouldn't!' _Sakura screamed mentally, trying valiantly to crush the doubts and insecurities that were threatening to consume her.

_'Sakura, you've been acting strange since Naruto returned, what happened yesterday?' _Ino thought with a concerned frown as she watched the different expressions and emotions morphing into her friends face.

_'H-he reshaped the whole landscape with that jutsu alone and completely destroyed my shadow clone! If I don't use my sharingan, I'll really die here without a doubt! _Kakashi thought with half of his body sticking out of the earth where he had originally been hiding under the surface of the earth but was now exposed due to the damage done to the landscape.

"You have nowhere to hide now, Kakashi." Naruto said matter of factly, staring down at the copy ninja with complete apathy.

"You're right, Naruto. I won't hold back anymore, or rather, I can't afford to hold back anymore. I'm going to be serious from now on." Kakashi said, pushing up the part of his forehead protector that was shielding his left eye, revealing a red eye with three tamoe circling around it as he jumped out and onto the surface of the battleground.

_'He killed my clone so easily with a well thought out battle plan involving only two of his shadow clones. In the past, his plans required a minimum of ten clones in order to effectively distract his opponent enough to gain an opening, but now, he only needs one or two to do the job. He's not just a powerhouse with unlimited chakra and a flashy jutsu anymore, he actually fights with the efficiency of someone who needs to preserve his energy, someone like me. Considering that he doesn't actually need to conserve that energy, that makes him an even more dangerous opponent.' _Kakashi thought wearily.

_'No, that's not all, he also didn't seem surprised that the one he killed was just a shadow clone, nor was he surprised to see me hiding underneath the earth. Meaning, he probably already knew that he was fighting a clone to begin with. This might actually be a lot harder than I initially thought it would be.' _Kakashi thought analytically.

"Using your sharingan now huh, that's good, this should half the time it would have taken for me to take the bells from you." Naruto said casually, as if his words alone were enough to morph and shape reality to his bidding.

_'Half the time it would have taken? What does that mean...I see!' _thought Kakashi with wide eyes, the memory of the time he fainted right in front of his students after over-using the sharingan in his fight with Zabuza flashing momentarily in front of his eyes.

_'So that's what he was really after? He wasn't really concerned with me underestimating him or not, he just wanted me to use the sharingan so that I can burn myself out before dawn, this is because he knows he can easily outlast me, or anyone for that matter. Knowing this, I can't simply defend the bell's anymore, that will just play me into his hands, I'll have to attack and defeat him cleanly in order to win this game. _Kakashi thought, eyes narrowing slightly with determination.

"I see. Naruto, you have indeed grown into a fine shinobi, but as your sensei, I still have a lot to teach you. Lesson number 1, taijutsu!" Kakashi exclaimed as he propelled himself at the blonde Uzumaki with impressive speed, launching a right hook at his student's chin.

Naruto ducked under the punch, spun around to his right hand side and sent a back spinning kick aimed for the back of Kakashi's head on the right side.

_'He's fast!' _Kakashi thought in surprise, unable spin around to block the attack because of the momentum from his missed attack but luckily, thanks to that same momentum, was able to duck under the assault, following that by twisting rapidly with a sweeping kick aimed at Naruto's grounded left leg. However, at the very last second Naruto was able to generate all the power from that single grounded leg to propel himself upwards, vertically twisting himself in mid-air, and executing an ax kick that was aimed for his jonin sensei's head.

Kakashi, realising the danger made a cross arm guard over his head and successfully stopped the blonde Uzumaki's attack, only for Naruto to create an instant and seal-less shadow clone on the copy nin's blind spot, the clone appearing already in a sweeping movement that was aimed at taking out the copy nin's legs from right under his body.

Kakashi, reacting instantly to the danger, gathered chakra to his arms and pushed the original off of his body and followed that up by quickly jumpin over the clones sweeping right leg, twisting and re-adjusting himself horizontally and swinging his right elbow downwards towards the clone's head.

However, that was his biggest mistake as another shadow clone manifested in the space above the sweeping clone, using it's counterpart's shoulder as footstool to propel itself above Kakashi as it quickly delivered the exact same attack that the copy nin intended to use on the other doppelganger, delivering a crushing elbow blow on the copy nin's spine that sent him crashing into the ground face first. Another clone manifested next to the doppelganger that delivered the blow, grabbed its arm and swung it towards the fallen copy nin with massive force and speed before poofing away, leaving a cloud of smoke where it used to be.

The remaining dopelganger formed a normal sized rasengan and rammed it into the copy ninja's back, or at least tried to only for Kakashi to escape with a substitution technique, leaving a log in his place that was smashed into a pile of splinters a split second later.

_'Substitution technique?' _the dopelganger thought before disappearing with a puff of smoke, sending the information and every other experience it had in its short existence back to the original Naruto.

_'First the substitution technique and now he's using stealth to keep himself hidden? Hn, guess I'll have to...' _

**"Earth Release: Double Suicide Decapitation Technique!" **Kakashi whispered, his hand instantly shooting out of the ground with the intent to grab onto the blonde Uzumaki's right ankle.

**"Wind Style: Wind Circulation!" **Naruto whispered, releasing a whirling mini cyclone from his left leg that completely shredded the copy nin's hand just as it wrapped around his ankle, the puff of smoke as a result however alerting the blonde immediately that the copy nin had only been another shadow clone.

"It seems that supplementary ninjutsu and taijutsu alone isn't going to be enough to take you down after all, Naruto." Kakashi said, using the **hiding like a mole technique **to protrude his body from the ground and subsequently jumping out a short but not too close distance away from the blonde Uzumaki.

"How's your back doing?" Naruto asked simply, throwing the fact that he was able to draw first blood at the copy ninja.

"Maa maa, I've survived worse than this." Kakashi replied with feigned nonchalance, scratching the back of his head sheepishly with a trademark eye smile displayed on his facial features.

"I suppose." Naruto replied uncaringly.

_'His taijutsu is outstanding. The sharingan is better at predicting linear movements than circular and indirect movements, Naruto seems to have knowledge of this and makes sure to never use linear attacks. Also, his ability to not only create instant and seal-less shadow clones, but to also manifest them in stances and positions of his own imagination means that he can corner his opponents and attack them directly on their blind spots, after all, the sharingan can't predict an attack it cannot see coming. He must have learned this from his passsed battles with Sasuke.' _Kakashi contemplated analytically.

_'Also, molding chakra outside any part of your body except your hands takes an incredible amount of skill and chakra control, yet he was able to not only execute it, but to do it almost instantaneously on his right leg. Naruto, what kind of monster are you turning into?' _Kakashi thought worriedly.

_'In any case, there's no use in trying to fight him at close range, his shadow clone mastery and syncronisation is a perfect counter to my sharingan, I'll have to attack him from mid and long range.' _Kakashi decided with conviction.

"Lesson number 2, Genjutsu!" Kakashi said, making direct eye contact with the blonde Uzumaki as the tamoe in his left eye spun around his pupil menacingly.

As soon as the genjutsu activated, Naruto's eye turned blood red with a black slit manifested in the pupil, his finger and toe nails grew longer and sharper and his canines became elongated. A menacing apparition of the nine tailed demon fox appeared behind the blonde Uzumaki with it's right claw wrapped around the blonde Uzumaki's body.

"W-what the...what's going on all of sudden?" Kakashi wondered out loud.

The fox apparition's left ear twitched slightly at the copy nin's words, releasing the blonde Uzumaki and charging at the copy nin with blinding speed. The fox opened its maw wide in order to swallow the copy ninja, only to disappear shortly before delivering the killing blow.

The atmosphere became lighter all of a sudden, the fox disappeared and Naruto's body seemed to have returned to normal all of a sudden, eyes no longer red, canines no longer elongated and nails no longer sharpened, at least, not as much as they were a few moments ago.

_'A genjutsu? But how...wait, that was a counter genjutsu? Stopping or dispelling a genjutsu is one thing, but it takes great skill to reverse a genjutsu on the user. But how is this even possible, Naruto was a complete dud when it comes to genjutsu, is this really him, or is it the fox's doing?' _Kakashi thought frantically.

"You were able to see through my genjutsu counter, you have yourself a good eye indeed, but for how long can you keep this up?" Naruto asked condensingly.

"You're not the only one that has been training over the passed couple of years, everyone has been improving themselves, myself included." Kakashi said simply.

"I see...well, in that case...!" Naruto trailed off menacingly as two shadow clones poofed into existence right next to him, one on his left and one on the right hand side. The original Naruto formed a rasengan on his right hand while the clone on his right hand side immediately started weaving wind chakra into the sphere, using both its hands for control and balance of the technique. The clone on his left hand side kept its eyes trained on the copy ninja to prevent him from interference, and to take note of any tricks that he might have up his sleeves.

**"Fuuton: Rasenshuriken!" **Naruto announced with his hand held high above his head, a rasengan surrounded by spiraling wind blades levitated above his palm.

_'He combined his rasengan with wind chakra...he completed the rasengan, impossible! Jiraiya-sama, what kind of training did you put Naruto through?' _Kakashi pondered nervously.

_'Kuso! I'll have to leave the questions for another time, it will be over if that thing even touches me. I'll have to fight at long range to keep him away from me.' _Kakashi thought.

_'He probably expects me to try and get close to him in order to admininster the technique, naturally, this is because that is how the normal rasengan works and because people don't expect someone to be able to control such a massive chakra from a distance. That will be his downfall.' _Naruto thought confidently.

**"Fire Style: Grand Fireball Technique!" **Kakashi exclaimed after blazing through the hand seals at breakneck speeds, launching a giant fireball from his lips that flew at great speeds towards the blonde Uzumaki.

_'He's using fire style to exploit the weakness of wind jutsu and exploit the complementary properties of the two affinities, namely, he's trying to use my rasenshuriken against me. A good idea, however...!' _Naruto trailed off as he threw the rasenshuriken with all his might.

The spiraling shuriken sliced right through the grand fireball, not only that, but the blades on the shuriken also caught fire from the copy nin's jutsu, turning the jutsu into a spiraling inferno.

_'A jutsu is only as strong as it's user, and a fire jutsu can only trully overpower a wind jutsu of the same rank. Using a B-rank jutsu against an S-rank jutsu is not going to do you any good. Also, the rasenshuriken dismantles humans and objects alike at a molecular level, even a fire jutsu can be dismantled with the correct application of the jutsu. Rest in peace, Hatake Kakashi!' _Naruto thought triumphantly.

_'It dismantled my jutsu and the wind blades were ignited by the grand fireball, not only that, but how is he controlling such a massive chakra from a distance! Kuso, this must surely be an S-rank ninjutsu!' _Kakashi thought in horror, jumping to the side at the last possible moment to avoid contact with the spiralling shuriken.

_'Heh, you're not getting away that easily.' _Naruto thought, giving the mental command for the shuriken to expand and explode immediately.

_'It's over, the copy ninja is no more!' _Naruto thought victoriously.

**Two Weeks Later...**

_It's been two weeks now since my battle with Kakashi, a battle of mysteries and discoveries. Kakashi told me to attack with the intent to kill, and everybody, the Hokage included heard him say that. And so, I did exactly that, knowing well that I couldn't possibly be arrested for doing what my direct senior officer instructed me to do, after all, this is the exact same reasoning that was used to excuse me of stealing the forbidden scroll of seals when I was still a genin, oh wait a minute, I am still a genin aren't I, hehe, how ironic._

_In any case, my attempt at assassinating Kakashi was a failure. It seems that the copy ninja had a few secrets of his own, he apparently has what Kurama has explained to me as the mangyeko sharingan, and that mangyeko sharingan seems to grant him the ability to manipulate space and time. Kakashi was able to open a space-time vortex that transported my rasenshuriken to another dimension. Apparently, the name of the technique is 'Kamui'. _

_The jutsu, as expected, took a lot out of him, he almost looked like he was about to pass out any moment as soon as he used it. I decided that I had to see the technique at least one more time so that I can know exactly what I'm up against, also, so that he can possibly die of chakra exhaustion. This time, I unsealed a windmill shuriken from a seal on my wrist, used the vacuum style to infuse it with wind chakra, and threw it at him with all my power. Naturally, Kakashi prepared himself to leap away from the attack, but that didn't really matter, I was able to make hundreds of shuriken copies, 300 exactly using the shuriken shadow clone technique, which essentially left Kakashi with the impossible task of dodging that many wind infused windmill shurikens._

_He had no choice but to use that Kamui ability again. Surprisingly, the copy cat was still able to keep his ground after using that jutsu, he has a lot more will power than I gave him credit for. But I knew he would once again fall for my trap, and naturally, he did. Its really not his fault, it isn't that he's stupid or anything, in fact, all he did was what any smart shinobi would do in that situation, retreat, ragain your strength and bearings, and than come up with a plan of action._

_Problem with that is, I like to put myself in the shoes of a smart person. When I heard that Kakashi would be my opponent, I automatcically knew that our battle would take place in training ground seven, in fact, he even confirmed this suspision by telling me to meet him there at five a.m. the following morning._

_That night, I went and set all all sorts of traps in the forest surrounding the training ground. Some were explosive tag related traps, some even involved exploding shadow clones. There were enough traps around that training ground to destroy a whole battalion of shinobi. In the end, Kakashi triggered most of the traps as I just stood at the centre of training ground seven and listened. By the time the noise stopped, Kakashi was in a commatose state and required immediate medical attention or he would have died in less than ten minutes. _

_Tsunade was able to save him, frankly, I was disappointed that he survived, I was really hoping that he would die. After all, it won't be too often that I get a chance to kill a Konoha shinobi without it actually constituting a crime. As expected, I was reprimanded despite the technical legality of my actions, apparently, the old Naruto would not have done something like that no matter what the circumstances. I received many different looks, Sakura, Hinata, Chouji, Shizune, Lee, and Ino looked at me with disbelief. Kurenai, Asuma, Jiraiya, Gai, Tenten,Shino, Kiba, and Shikamaru with suspision, Tsunade with anger and disapointment, and Neji with simple curiosity. _

_My friends are now weary of me and try to avoid me at all costs. Maybe they believe that I will feel bad and apologise for what I did. But I won't, I actually like that they are avoiding me, this only makes it easier for me to conduct my business without interference. Neji is the only one I have spoken to from the Konoha 10 since that day. That is because he was one of two people that I actually returned to Konoha for. No matter how strong a man becomes, he can't be an island all on his own. My ultimate goal is to rebuild Whirlpool, but there are too many threats that need to be eliminated before I can commence with that mission. Right now, what I need is a four man team, I can't destroy Akatsuki and Konoha on my own, I will need allies, actually, rather, I have found allies._

_Neji has agreed to leave Konoha with me. He was not very hard to convince, after all, I did remove his caged bird seal for him, it was surprisingly easy, sure, learning Uzumaki clan fuinjutsu in the old whirlpool ruins was behind my ability to help Neji, but really, any decent seal master could have figured this out. Although, I guess it would have taken them years rather than the two days it took me, really, most seal masters are novices compared to the Uzumaki clan._

_Neji will help me destroy Konoha and the main branch of the Hyuga clan, in return, I will remove the caged bird seal from his kinsman and they will be allowed to join Whirlpool with Neji as the clan head. This in turn means that I will have fulfilled my promise to abolish the caged bird system and change the fate of the Hyuga clan. _

_Of course, all of this will only happen after he has helped me destroy the Akatsuki. There is no fixed date for our departure, I'm thinking that maybe I can exploit both Konoha and Akatsuki for as long as possible before permanently severing my ties. Akatsuki want Kurama, and Konoha want to hold on to Kurama, I plan to use these two facts to get Akatsuki and Konoha to weaken each other, after all, with those directly conflicting motives, they are bound to clash with each other sooner rather than later. Also, this will give me a chance to gauge my true strength against the Akatsuki while I still have the backing of Konoha so that I can determine whether I am ready to break free or if I still need to rely on Konoha._

_That leaves just one recruite, Kurama Yakumo. Konoha have been keeping a tight leesh on me since I returned, Tsunade has doubled the security and seveilance on me for two reasons, one, the impending threat of the Akatsuki, but more importantly, because I seem to have become a flight risk that must be carefully watched. She may drink a lot, but she's quite good at her job, I'll give her that at least._

_In any case, I haven't been able to see Kurama Yakumo in person, I don't want to push it too far, Yakumo is considered as an S-class flight risk and danger to Konoha, us befriending each other would not have been of too much concern to Tsunade and Jiraiya in the past, Danzo and the elders would have been concerned regardless, but not those two. Now however, things are different, no one trusts me anymore, everyone is on edge as if waiting for me to self-destruct or something, can't blame them for that I guess._

_In any case, just because we haven't met up in person, doesn't mean that we haven't actually met up. I've sent shadow clones to her place on more than one occassion. I was surprised at her coldness towards me, apparently, she didn't even know about my training trip and assumed that I had abandoned her like everyone else in her life. I don't think I've ever felt so sad and angry at myself, because now that I think about it, I actually did abandon her and only started thinking about her when I started thinking about companions to help me survive and thrive in my quest. The pain was so unbearable, I couldn't stop crying, I felt like a hypocrite, I behaved just like the Konoha scums that I seek to destroy. That will never happen again though, I won't make the same mistake. I don't know if the tears helped or not, but I'm glad that I was able to reach Yakumo-chan's heart again. _

_We have talked alot about the future and how we plan to get there. She knows about Neji and our fourth member as well. We all have something that connects us together, we have all felt the pain of hate, loneliness, and opression. That is the bond that will make us surpass all other teams and organisations before us._

_Yakumo-chan has revealed alot of interesting facts about herself and her time spent in the last three years. I found out that the Ido demon was not completely destroyed, and infact cannot be completely destroyed. This is because darkness itself cannot be completely vanquished in a person's heart. Should that person feel the pain of loss, loneliness and betrayal again, darkness will always be reborn in said person's heart. Kurenai and I hurt, abandoned and betrayed Yakumo all over again, and that gave birth to a renewed hatred in her heart. _

_The good thing now is that she has now conquered and subdued that darkness, she now has full control of her own powers. In other words, she is not controlled by hatred, but uses it to her own advantage, she is at another level altogether now._

_Naturally, I had to ask why she hadn't used that power to escape Konoha and live the life she wanted to live. The answer was unexpected and heart wrenching to say the least. I felt so bad for even asking such a question, I should have known better, after all, this was exactly how I felt before I found out about my origins. The truth of the matter is that Yakumo had absolutely nowhere to go even if she escaped. She didn't have any friends to go to and she didn't know anyone outside these walls. If she went to another village, there was no guarantee that they wouldn't treat her just as bad as Konoha, or even worse. Also, her physical condition was another detriment, she didn't know how far her body would be able to carry her. Still, it seemed that she was still interested in leaving Konoha, because she was studying the medical arts in her spare time in order to find a cure for herself. _

_Fortunately, I had already made provision for something like this. This is because of my bloodline limit, yes, that is why I was able to cure Yakumo-chan's condition. _

_The sage of the six paths had an affinity for all five nature transformations, but what many don't know, is that there is an actual sixth element, the __**yin/yang release**__, otherwise known as __**creation of all things**_. _Even__ those who know about this element have no idea how to actually harness it. The sage had an affinity for this element and was the only one who has ever completely mastered it. There are so many applications and different ways to use this affinity that it would take entire lifetimes to completely master it without rinnegan. And even than, it would require an exceptionally talented individual to completely master. _

_Many bloodline clans, in fact, most bloodline clans have the ability to use a limited version of this ability. My first real opponent, Momochi Yuki Haku was able to combine water and wind nature to create the ice release because of his clans ability to subconsciously use yin/yang release in that manner. One of my other opponents, Kimimaro was able to subconsciously use yin/yang release to create and replace lost bones from his chakra using a different application of the creation of all things. _

_With the Uzumaki clan, things are slightly different, our bloodline limit doesn't limit us to a specific application of the creation of all things technique, we have an affinity for yin/yang release in its purest form and can therefore use it in a manner of each individual's choosing. My mother was able to use it in the form of indestructable chakra supression chains that also served as a medium for her sealing and barrier jutsu. In the past, many Uzumaki clan members have used this ability in many different ways, some for genjutsu, some for medical ninjutsu, some, like my mother, to complement their sealing and barrier jutsu, and some like me, to complement their ninjutsu._

_I have a lightning affinity from my father, and a wind affinity from my mother, and I have used my yin/yang affinity to combine those two affinities and created a new release, the __**swift release**_. _But that is not all. I met my mother inside my seal when I wanted to take control of Kurama's chakra, and she taught me her chakra chain technique. She was so happy to hear about my goal to rebuild Whirlpool and said it was the least she could do to help me on my quest. We parted on happy terms and I have never felt so loved as I did when I was with her. If there is a way to properly ressurect the dead, I will find it eventually and I will ressurect her, I simply can't let go. _

_My father on the other hand was a completely different story. Apparently, he set the seal up so that he can see my whole life through the seal. As a result, he, unlike my mother, knows about my plan to destroy Konoha for its betrayal to Whirlpool Country and as part of the deal I made with Kurama. He refused to help me destroy Konoha, that really pissed me off. I was really looking forward to learning the Hiraishin no jutsu. I had so many plans for that technique, but I guess it wasn't to be. Part of the reason I created the swift release however was because I couldn't learn that technique, but I do realise the importance of speed and reaction time, and I have worked hard to enhance those abilities. Still, teleportation is a lot more convenient than speed and there are so many ways to use it, meh, I had a back-up plan should the situation call for it, not the most noble of methods, but who cares, it's convenient enough._

_Shadow clone training has been of great use to me, I have not only managed to learn medical ninjutsu from Shiromari's chameleon clan, but I have managed to intergrate my yin/yang release into my jutsu. This has granted me the ability to regenerate wounds at high speeds, not only that, but it has given me the ability to cure Yakumo-chan's disease. My jutsu is even superior to Tsunade and Kabuto's self healing techniques. Yin/Yang is the power of creation, through the right medical application, even body parts can be destroyed and recreated, that is how Yakumo-chan was cured._

_In any case, Kazekage Gaara Of The Sand was captured by the Akatsuki recently. I was surprised that Konoha would even allow me to leave the village after all that suspision, but I guess they had no choice. I defeated Kakashi after all, and I am a jinchuuriki. Also, I know Tsunade and Jiraiya as well as I think I do, than they probably instructed Kakashi and Sakura to keep an eye on me and take note of every movement I make. They know that I can't hold back against opponents of Akatsuki's calibre and probably want to gather intel on any abilities I might still be hiding._

_I have to give them credit, they are very shrewed individuals, I gave away so much about myself in my fight with Kakashi, I even used rasen-shuriken. If they really do suspect that I am still holding back after all that, than...they are absolutely spot on._

_Haha! However, I am even smarter than that, I bet Kakashi and Sakura, no actually, I know Kakashi and Sakura were surprised when I didn't follow Deidara when he flew away with Gaara's corpse. In fact, Kakashi tried to get me to go with him and leave Sakura behind with Chiyo baa-sama. However, I had a good excuse already, Gaara was closest to me, in fact, I was the only one in the team who was close to Gaara. Deidara knew this and was planning to use that to his advantage, going with Kakashi would make us fools who were playing into the enemy's hands without thinking. Also, both Kakashi and I are ninjutsu types, and both Chiyo and Sakura are medical kunoichi. Pairing them together and us together would have been unwise and went against everything that Tsunade invisioned for Konoha. Tsunade wanted diversity in each team and most importantly, believed that every team should have a medical shinobi. It was probably best that each team have a ninjutsu type and a medical type to increase our chances of success. Also, it was best that I remain with Chiyo, my multi-shadow clone technique would be a good counter for Sasori's puppet technique and would help me avoid getting poisoned. Also, Chiyo was also a puppeteer and infact Sasori's teacher. Her intel would be important. In the end, Kakashi had no choice but to take Sakura with and go after Deidara. _

_This was a victory for me, I can now get to fight an Akatsuki member without the need to hold back, I just hope that Chiyo dies somehow, I don't think she would want to share any intel with Konoha, but at the same time there is no guarantee that she wouldn't. In any case, she seems intent on stopping her grandson from his criminal path and in fact seems resolved to killing him. If I kill him, maybe she can owe me one for that and not rat out about my abilities. It remains to be seen, if I can't strike a deal with her, I'll have to kill her and defect immediately, Yakumo and Neji know the procedure to follow should I be forced to defect unexpectedly, we have already prepaired for such a scenario._

"An little brat with less than four years of experience and an old hag that's one foot away from her grave is all that the combined efforts of Suna and Konoha can spare to save the Kazekage and to take down an Akastuki member? How the mighty have fallen." Sasori said in a deep and grouchy voice. A relatively short and hunchbacked man with three braided hairs and a black desert scarf covering the bottom of his face, a black cloak with red clouds covering the rest of his body.

"In the ninja world, appearances are almost always deceiving, after all, you yourself don't look like nothing more than a hunchbacked and disfigured old man that still likes to play with dolls." Naruto retorted with a neutral tone, completely shutting off his emotions and focussing on nothing else but the battle.

"Confidence is admirable, but no one respects a cocky little brat that acts like he knows everything. You have no idea what you've gotten yourself into, Kyubi!" Sasori retorted irritably.

"No matter, it seems as though I'm about to find out anyway, that's fine by me. Besides, I may not be completely aware of what I have gotten myself into, but, you are also in the same boat, you have no idea what I am capable of." Naruto said with a sinister undertone.

"I can't tell if you're trying to convince me or if you're trying to convince yourself with that garbage. You heard what Deidara said right, the nanabi jinchuuriki willingly surrendered to us because she wanted to be freed from the cursed existence of being a jinchuuriki and live happily ever after in the afterlife. You do not have to struggle so hard, you can stop pretending, we know about your suffering. Surrender yourself and we will relieve you of your pain and grant you a peaceful journey to the afterlife. We will carry the burden of the Kyubi for you, can't you see that Akatsuki is only trying to help you? Hehehehehehe!" Sasori said sinically, causing Naruto to grit his teeth in anger and a little frustration.

"I'm glad I met you, Sasori. Perhaps if I had never met you, I might have eventually turned out just like you. But now that I have seen how pathetic you are, I can change my destiny into something better. It seems to me that you have gained an incredible level of skill and power, but have forsaken yourself in your quest for power, you no longer see anyone else around you, just yourself and your own ego." Naruto said, taking a deep breathe before continuing where he left off.

"Let me tell you something about the nanabi jinchuuriki that you and Deidara claim to know so much about. The nanabi jinchuuriki Fu and I are lovers, the last time we spoke was this morning through messages sent via my chameleon summons, and I am the only person in the entire world who knows where she is hiding right now. Think carefully and know your opponent a little better before you start sprouting nonsense. Confidence is admirable, but no one likes a cocky brat who thinks he knows everything." Naruto said condensingly, effectively turning Sasori's own words against the hunchbacked puppeteer, causing him to growl in anger and embarrassment.

_'N-Nani! He was able to befriend Gaara the Ichibi Jinchuuriki, and now he is also lovers with the nanabi jinchuuriki? This child, what is he...!' _Chiyo trailed of in surprise, only to be cut off mid thought by Sasori's angry voice.

"You...I was going to grant you a peacefu death, but I have changed my mind! I will capture you, torture the nanabi's whereabouts out of you, capture her, and have you watch us extract her bijuu as she dies in front of you. Then, only then will we extract the kyubi from you. No, infact, I will turn her into a puppet first, and then only extract the kyubi!" a pissed off Sasori growled out.

"We'll see about that." Naruto said with a venomous glare, adopting a battle ready stance as he prepared himself mentally and emotionally for his first real clash with an Akatsuki member.

_'Earlier, Chiyo baa-sama controlled six kunai with her chakra strings and attacked Sasori with them. The idea behind this was obvious, this jutsu inables the user to change the trajectory of the kunai at the last possible moment and attack an unguarded body area. But Sasori saw through it and rotated his metalic tail around his body to deflect all the weapons at the same time. However...' _Naruto trailed off in thought.

_'Chiyo baa-sama, in an instant, disconnected the chakra strings, compressed the chakra until it was invisble to the naked eye, and attached the invisible strings to Sasori's tail. Not only that, but she has also attached another set of chakra strings to my body and gained almost complete control over my movements. Probably, she doesn't believe I can avoid Sasori's attacks and puppet traps on my own, also, if her fighting style is anything to go by, she also doesn't have enough raw power to destroy that puppet body. She saw me use rasengan against Itachi earlier, she probably intends to get me close to Sasori to destroy that puppet with that jutsu.' _Naruto thought analytically.

_'If I let her control me, I might not have to use swift release after all, and I definitely won't have to use that other jutsu as well. In any case, it's too early to tell, I'll just let her control me for now. In the meantime, I'll observe Sasori's movements and attack patterns.' _thought the blonde Uzumaki.

"Chiyo baa-sama, I will follow your plan of defense and attack for now, you have my blessing." Naruto said without even turning to look at his partner, causing Chiyo's eyes to widen in sudden realisation.

_'Follow my plan of defense and attack? Than, does that mean that he is not only aware of my chakra strings connected to him and Sasori, but is also aware of my intentions with regards to how to use his raw power for offense? Than, he must be a very good sensor type if he was able to notice my invisible chakra strings, a very intelligent one at that. Uzumaki Naruto, just who are you exactly?' _Chiyo thought in wonder.

_'Looks like they're about to make thier move, in that case...' _Sasori thought, throwing his Akatsuki cloak away and adopting a four legged stance. Clearly revealing his puppet shape which was not too different from that of a tortoise, with his legs and arms being his only real body parts protruding outside of the puppet and a big shell like shield protecting his back.

"Get ready Naruto-kun, this is his offensive mode, he's about to attack." Chiyo warned.

"Hai, Chiyo baa-sama." Naruto acknowledged.

**End of Chapter**

**Next Chapter Title: **Naruto and Sasori, A bond between Enemies.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto or any other series that I might use for inspiration.

**Chapter 2**

_**Bond Between Enemies**_

_'How is this possible? Chiyo-baaba predicting and avoiding my assault is one thing, but this little brat too? What experience could he possibly have when it comes to battling against a puppet technique of this calibre?' _Sasori pondered with a little concern.

It wasn't something that would cause him to question the chances of his victory, as far as Sasori was concerned, victory was already his, these two fools just didn't know it yet. Still, Sasori liked to consider himself to be a very intelligent, observant, and perceptive individual, as a result, every single mystery had to be solved precisely and accurately, this kind of information could help him create counter measures for the flaws in his fighting style and even help him improve his overall ability as a shinobi.

Sasori was aware that simply dodging a senbon attack was nothing special, he himself had done it many times and he'd seen many people dodge those attacks as well, in actual fact, the idea of a respectable shinobi getting hit with a head on senbon assault was rediculous in itself. But, there was a difference between a barrage of senbon thrown by a regular shinobi and Sasori's senbon barrage. A normal human or shinobi can only hold so many senbon between his ten fingers at a time and hence, can only throw so many senbon, basically, there is a limit to how many senbon a regular person can throw at a time. This in effect made it possible for the opponent to dodge most and in fact most of the time, all the senbons aimed at him or her. That is why senbon were mostly used for medical reasons, or for stealth attacks where the opponent wouldn't be aware of the incoming attack or even aware of the presence of an enemy. Sometimes they could be used in direct combat, but only as a distraction or in order to lead an enemy to trap that was set up beforehand.

Sasori however doesn't have these limitations that normal people seem to have. That is all thanks to his sealing and puppet techniques. An **ammunition seal **of Sasori's own design is used to store and release senbon at incredible speeds and accuracy. This seal is than placed in various key areas of Sasori's main puppets, namely, the mouths and palms of his puppets. The seal has no human limitations, limitations such as only having ten fingers to throw senbons at enemy shinobi, or throwing senbons at intervals. If he wanted to, Sasori could launch five hundred senbon per succesive interval, or he could use no intervals at all and just launch an endless barrage of senbon.

That is why it would take someone with years of experience training under those conditions to dodge all his senbon. If the Kyubi kid had a sharingan or a byakugan, than maybe Sasori might have given him the benefit of the doubt, or if perhaps he had a defensive technique like an earth shield or Kakuzu's **earth release: earth spear technique **to simply prevent the senbon from penetrating his skin. But Naruto didn't fit any of these catogories and yet still was able to render Sasori's assault ineffective. This, while not life threatening, as Sasori had an abundance of options in his jutsu arsenal, was still a serious matter of concern.

_'I never thought that my body could bend and twist at such awkward angles under the control of someone else, nor did I think that my body parts could move even faster with outside influence rather than my own will. I understand now why Chiyo baa-sama and Sasori have chosen to specialize in this art. It allows them to pull off hand to hand combat skills that are otherwise impossible to execute with their own bodies. Not only that, but even weapons techniques such as senbon throwing are a hundred fold more devastating and effective when used through puppet ninjutsu.' _A more than impressed Naruto thought analytically.

"Prepare yourself Naruto-chan!" Chiyo ordered with an air of seriousness.

_'She's about to go on the offensive, and she's going to use me. Alright, it's time for that troublesome Hiruko puppet to go.' _Naruto thought with anticipation.

"I'm ready!" Naruto confirmed.

Chiyo didn't waste a second longer as she launched Naruto head on at her rogue grandson with an unnoticeable flick of the finger, using her invisible chakra threads to control the blonde Uzumaki's body and movements with amazing efficiency and effectiveness.

"A head on assault is the best idea you could come up with, how stupid, you're really underestimating me aren't you!" Sasori growled out as he launched another barrage of senbon from Hiruko's mouth cavity.

Naruto however dodged each and every senbon with unreal finesse, agility, and speed, getting closer and closer to Sasori until he was almost close enough for his arm to reach out and touch the head of Sasori's Hiruko puppet. Sasori, uncomfortable with the close proximity and realising the possible danger of the situation, switched from senbon assault to kenjutsu, thrusting his metalic tail towards the 15 year old jinchuuriki's abdomen with impressive speed and precision.

"Game over...nani!" Sasori exclaimed uncharacteristically as his tail simply refused to follow his chakra thread commands, leaving him completely open for an attack from the blonde jinchuuriki.

**"Rasengan!" **Naruto exclaimed, forming a big spiraling sphere on his right palm and subsequently smashing the Hiruko puppet to smitherines. Those who had seen him use the rasengan three years ago would have noticed Naruto's visible growth in strength as his basic rasengan was now twice the size it used to be three years ago.

Fortunately, or unfortunately, depending on which side you were on, Sasori was able to eject himself out of the puppet in the last second before Naruto's rasengan connected, saving his own life at the expense of one of his treasured puppets. Chiyo, weary of any possible traps that Sasori might have set-up in Hiruko should the puppet ever be destroyed, quickly pulled the blonde Uzumaki back to her side as they both waited for the hooded figure that seemed to have popped out of Hiruko to reveal himself, both waiting on edge in case of any surprise attacks.

"I've waited twenty years just to see my grandson's face again, come now don't be so shy Sasori-chan, this old woman could keel over and die any second now, don't keep your grandma waiting any longer." Chiyo said with a weird combination of sarcasm and nostalgia.

Sasori however ignored his grandmother's demands, taking his time as he re-attached his chakra threads to the remains of Hiruko, namely, the metalic tail and moved it around in random directions before dropping it back to the ground unceremoniously.

"I see, that was quite impressive, Chiyo baa-sama. I'm embarrassed that I didn't notice it until this very moment." Sasori said with a clearly different voice from the one he was using earlier, one that was serene and much softer than previously.

"Earlier, when you attacked me with those kunai that were connected together by your chakra strings, you already knew that such a low level puppet technique would not work against me. Rather, the real intention was for you to set up the first phase of your plan of attack. You anticipated my use of the metal tail to stop your attack and subsequently dislodged the chakra strings on the kunai and compressed the chakra until the threads became invisible to the naked eye. At the same time, while my eyes were focussed on your attack, you attached another set of chakra strings to the Kyubi and helped him avoid my senbon barrage." Sasori thought out loud.

"Earlier, Itachi and Kisame's shape shifting clones were sent to inercept and stall you and the Konoha contingent...I'm guessing that the Kyubi must have used the rasengan on either Kisame or Itachi. Having witnessed the jutsu's destructive power, you planned and successfully used the Kyubi to destroy Hiruko, stopping me from killing him with the chakra strings you attached to my tail right at the beginning of the battle. Once again, I'm embarrassed that I can only notice this at this point in time, I really can't believe I was played like this by an outdated old hag like you, Chiyo baaba." Sasori said emotionlessly, swiftly throwing his hood away and theotrically turning around to finally face his opponents

_'N...no way! Isn't this guy supposed to have defected twenty years ago? He doesn't even look older than me!' _Naruto thought, staring in disbelief at the guy standing in front him, a guy who was about the same height as Naruto was, maybe just a tad bit taller with wide brown eyes and short red hair, also wearing the standard Akatsuki uniform.

"Chiyo baa-sama, do you recognize this guy as the same Sasori who defected twenty years ago, or is this just an imposter?" Naruto asked awkwardly.

"I...I don't believe it! Sasori, what have you done to yourself?" Chiyo stuttered out in shock and utter disbelief.

"W-what's wrong, Chiyo baa-sama?" Naruto asked with a confused expression.

"He...he hasn't aged by a single day since he left Suna as a 15 year old boy, he doesn't look different at all." Chiyo whispered, still unable to fully comprehend the reality that was staring right back at her with murderous intent.

"I see, so this is what an Akatsuki is capable of? I don't know why I'm so surprised really, after all, anyone who could willingly associate themselves with Orochimaru has to have some crazy abilities themselves. The only question is...is Sasori using some kind of de-aging technique, or...could he really have found a way to make himself immortal?" Naruto wondered out loud, a dreadful and weary expression morphing into his facial features.

"You seem to have quite a substantial amount of intel on my former partner, you know, Orochimaru and I achieved alot of great things together, it is a pity that he had to go and betray us. Now I'm going to have to kill him...right after I kill that old hag and capture you, Kyubi." Sasori said condensingly.

_'He was Orochimaru's former partner? Kuso! Does that mean that he really is immortal than?' _Naruto thought with more than a little tepidition.

Chiyo meanwhile took out a scroll from inside her garment and released the storage seal with a flare of chakra, releasing ten battle puppets dressed in white garments and also wearing demonic masks over their faces.

**"White Secret Technique: The Chikamatsu Collection Of Ten Puppets!" **Chiyo called out as she attached the neccessary chakra threads required to control all ten puppets.

"The ability to control ten puppets at the same time, this is your ultimate puppet technique isn't it? It is said that each of those puppets possesses the power of a thousand ordinary puppets put together, not only that, but it is also said that you once single handedly took over an entire castle using that puppet technique. I myself have never seen you in action with those puppets, but it is quite impressive that you can control ten puppets at the same time, very few, in fact, before you, only one other person was ever able to utilise the **yubi ni su" **Sasori commended.

"Sasori...! I don't know why or how on earth you turned out like this, but I'm going to put a stop to this no matter what. It is the least that I can do for your mother and father, it is the least that I can do for you, my beloved grandson." Chiyo declared with determination.

"An old hag like you talking down to me like that? Your arrogance is really starting to annoy me! It's about time I put an end to this game, Deidara should be just about done now with the copy ninja and that girl anyway, I don't like keeping people waiting." Sasori said venomously.

Sasori had dropped down a storage scroll from his sleeves and onto his right hand while he was talking and threw it in the air as he adopted a ram hand seal. Of course, the ram seal was unneccessary as Sasori didn't need to use hand seals anymore, using a hand seal with his puppet body was useless after all, but it was an act he had put up so many times that it now came naturally to him. It wasn't a completely unneccessary act though, after all, he had to convince everyone, comrades and enemies alike that there was nothing ilegitimate about his 'real' body, not counting the unnatural lack of aging of course.

Having adopted the hand seal, Sasori flared his chakra with a specific frequency, releasing the storage scroll as numerous puppets popped out, one hundred of them to be exact. Sasori didn't waste time though, immediately attaching chakra strings to each and every puppet inside the cave. Some of the strings came out of his mouth, some from below his cloak, some from inside his sleeves, and some even from his fingers.

**"Red Secret Technique: Performance Of A Hundred Puppets!" **Sasori anounced theotrically.

"T-this is impossible! Sasori...?" Chiyo exclaimed with a surprised expression.

"Chiyi-baaba, do you now comprehend the unsurmountable gab in our abilities. You have replicated an ability mastered by only one other in the history of kugutsu, but I have achieved a feat ten times greater. This is the beginning of your despair, I will strip you of all hope until you become nothing but a vacant and useless vessel, just like a puppet with no strings." Sasori declared confidently.

_'This should be impossible, it should be... no, it is humanly impossible to create that many chakra strings, not to mention the mental fortitude and flexibility it would require to control all one hundred puppets!' _Chiyo thought with disbelief.

"Chiyo baa-sama, what seems to be the matter? You don't seem like yourself all of a sudden." Naruto asked with concern.

"She is unable to compehend the reality staring back at her right in the eye, that someone so young could have done what she couldn't have achieved even if you gave her three thousand years to do it. Essentially, this could be equated to a physical and mental condition one experiences when they are forced to confront all of their life's failures, true despair in the flesh." Sasori said condensingly.

"So you're saying that no one has ever been able to create that many chakra strings, and that controlling that many puppets at the same time should be physically and possibly mentally impossible?" Naruto deduced accurately from what he could gather from Sasori's boasting and Chiyo's reaction in kind.

"That's about the gist of it, yes." Sasori answered simply.

_'He's very good at reading body language and battle situations if he was able to deduce that all on his own with so little time and information. Even earlier, he was able to read Chiyo-baaba's intentions without her actually telling or even physically signalling her intentions. I'll have to pay a little more attention to him, he's an enigma and a variable that isn't fully accounted for in this battle. There's also the chance that he could go berserk and release the Kyubi.' _Sasori thought wearily.

"Naruto..." Chiyo trailed off with a serious tone.

"Yes, Chiyo-baasama?" Naruto asked politely.

"I'm afraid you're going to have to stay back this time. I won't be able to control your movements and ten puppets at the same time. Allow this old granny to take over this time." Chiyo said.

"I understand, but..." Naruto trailed off as he adopted a cross hand sign, flaring his chakra as he created fifty shadow clones.

"I can create a lot more of these, but there is not enough space in the cave for that. Nevertheless, I will heed your advice and stay back, but there is no reason for us to limit ourselves to ten puppets, my shadow clones can fight for me while I stay at a safe distance just like you and Sasori do with your puppets, also, I don't need chakra thread to control them. I believe they will also be of great help to you, Chiyo-baasama." Naruto said, dropping the hint to Chiyo that he knew she would get almost immediately.

_'I see, he intends to have some of his shadow clones act as back-up and protection for my puppets while they are on the offense. Also, should I end up losing a puppets, he intends for me to take control of one of the clones that was backing it up and use it as a puppet instead. Naruto-chan, you really are one of kind.' _Chiyo thought with a confident smirk.

"Good job Naruto-chan, there's no need to drag this out, lets end it nice and quickly alright?" Chiyo declared with unwavering confidence, flailing her arms and fingers as she sent her puppet squad into battle.

"Of course, I wouldn't have it any other way." Naruto replied simply, giving the sign for his shadow clone battalion to charge into battle.

The battle only lasted a few minutes, not more than eight minutes. Sasori's puppet army was indeed formidable and the skill with which he controlled all one hundred puppets was alot more impressive than Chiyo could have ever expected, so much so that Sasori had only lost half of his puppet army by the time her whole puppet squad and Naruto's initial fifty shadow clones were obliterated. Fortunately, Naruto's reserves were unlimited as he was able to create another sixty shadow clones, of which ten, at all times, were taken over and controlled by Chiyo.

Sasori, with his forces depleted to only ten puppets pulled off an unexpected and downright devious move, using the **puppet performance: skilfull achievement with a human body **to forcibly take control of some of Naruto's clones and use them against each other. However, Naruto quickly saw through this and instructed his clones to dispell upon contact with Sasori's chakra threads.

For any other shinobi, or at least, most other shinobi, Sasori's manuever would have proved a fatal and uncounterable move as it would have been virtually impossible to differentiate between Chiyo taking over a clone and Sasori taking over a clone. But Naruto is no ordinary shinobi, as he is one of the finest chakra sensor types in the elemental nations. Because of this ability, Naruto and his clones were able to differentiate between Chiyo and Sasori's chakra threads and respond acordingly. In the end, Sasori's puppet army was completely defeated, leaving him at the mercy of Naruto's four remaining shadow clones.

The clones, sensing victory, didn't yield their assault even for a second, attacking Sasori with vigor and determination, as well as strategy of course. One clone went for a right hook on Sasori's face, but the great puppeteer was too fast for the clone, ducking under the punch and kicking the clone on the chin with a humanly impossible manuever, his right leg shooting up vertically and over his head from his crouching position. The manuever wasn't only unexpected because of the awkward upwards bending of the leg, but also because of the fact that it was executed almost at the same time and in fact during the process of dodging the clone's right hook.

As expected, the shadow clone poofed out of existence upon contact, but just as well as it was only the diversion for the attack plan, only meant to blind side Sasori as two other clones came in from the sides in an effort to enclose the puppeteer as they prepared a rasengan each aimed at Sasori's ribs. The plan was simple enough, yet quite effective under normal circumstances, Sasori was meant to avoid the three pronged attack, and the only way to avoid it would have been for him to jump backwards, he shouldn't have been able to go forward because of the initial shadow clones attack, and he shouldn't have been able to dodge sideways because of the two clones with rasengans prepared to smash him in. Therefore, his only option would have been to jump upwards or backwards, or even both.

That is where the fourth shadow clone came in, he was supposed to use the initial clone as cover as he came up behind him and jumped over with a **cho oodama rasengan**, in mid air, Sasori wouldn't be able to avoid the assault and even if he did, the initial shadow clone would be watching his movements and time a secondary attack for Sasori's approximate landing position while the other two clones would have obviously destroyed each other with the rasengan.

However, things didn't go according to plan as Sasori pulled off another unthinkable manuever, the red haired puppeteer wrapping chakra thread around each shadow clone's arm at the very last moment and controlling them enough to change the trajectory so that they both missed him and hit each other instead, the two clones as a result sustaining more than enough damage to destroy each other as they poofed out of existence.

At this point, the fourth shadow clone was already airborn, forming a gigantic rasengan as he flew downwards towards the ground Akasuna no Sasori once again demonstrated his unbelievable mastery over the chakra thread technique, instantly attaching chakra thread to the back wall of the cave and instantly shorting the length of the threads from his finger endings, a manuever that had the effect of his body getting pulled towards the wall at incredible speed.

Sasori, before he even reached the otherside of the room, and before the clones attack even connected with the surface was already launching his counter attack, another one of his strings having been attached to one of the swords lying around from his defeated puppets and directing it towards the blonde Uzumaki clone's blind spot, stabbing the clone through the chest and dispeling it before it's ridiculously sized rasengan could connect with the earth and destroy the whole cave.

_'Unbelievable, his moments and agility should be impossible for any normal human, Sasori, what else have you been doing to your body either than de-aging yourself.' _Chiyo thought with a mixture of surprise, pride, and awe, finding it hard to believe the level of mastery that her grandson had reached without her help, a level far beyond any of his predecessors. If only he hadn't turned traitor. Chiyo couldn't help but wonder how different things would have turned out with someone like Sasori on suna's side, especially after the loss of the third kazekage.

_'This kid is quite fast, almost as fast as Itachi and Leader-sama, and his clone taijutsu combination is out of this world. I'd have been defeated if it wasn't for my special body and it's abilities.' _Sasori thought with a little relief, realising just how differently things would have turned out if it wasn't for his irregular skills and quick thinking.

_'Damn! What the hell was that, how the hell can someone bend their leg like that, how can someone even perform two conflicting physical manuevers at the same time like that?' _Naruto thought with disbelief.

"That was quite an interesting strategy, Kyubi. You must have worked hard and long on your shadow clone combinations and strategy, I can't imagine how many simulations it must have taken to get your clones to perform such well co-ordinated attacks. It seems like they have a a battle plan in place for every single battle scenario, whether it be three or four against one, or 50 against a hundred. Very few people actually prepare themselves efficiently for battle not only against one or two opponents, but against armies as well. My one hundred puppet army has never been defeated before up until now, did you know that I once took over a whole nation with those puppets?" Sasori praised and boasted in kind.

"I know I should be surprised, but, having witnessed and even experienced first hand what you're capable of, I'm not really all that surprised. I can see how you could do something like that with enough preparation time and a good battle strategy, more so with the element of surprise that you would have, after all, who could expect a single individual to challenge a whole nation." Naruto complemented, the two rivals sharing a mutual respect for each other's skill and achievements, much to the surprise of Lady Chiyo.

"Uzumaki Naruto, you are indeed quite an intrigueing child, you have certainly caught my attention. However, it is about time that I captured you, it is such a pity, that I have to kill someone that resembles so much of my younger self, perhaps in a different world, you and I might have been good friends." Sasori said with a strangely subdued tone, dropping another scroll from his sleeve, one with the kanji for 'three' inscribed on it.

"Friends? Heh, you don't strike me as someone who values friendship, I absolutely can't imagine you trusting anyone with watching your back for you, given the fact that you seem to hide inside Hiruko most of the time, even when you're with your partner Deidara." The blonde Uzumaki retorted, narrowing his eyes at the scroll on Sasori's left hand with suspision

_'Another scroll? I thought the army of puppets was his greatest technique, I should have known he had something else up his sleeve, it was just too good to be true.' _Naruto thought wearily.

"Shinobi code dictates that we must lie, cheat, deceive, and even betray each other if it will help us achieve our goals, therfore, trust has nothing to do with friendship, at least, not in the shinobi world." Sasori declared with certainty.

"I suppose there's a good point there somewhere. I don't like the way you think but there is some level of truth to it, at the very least, I can understand why a person would take such a life philosophy to heart." Naruto said, his eyes narrowing in distaste and his fists clenching involuntarily as he remembered just how much he was deceived by so many people from Konoha that he trusted the most.

_'What's happening? Why are these two having a heart to heart conversation in the middle of battle? Is this the power that the White Fang's son spoke of, is this how Naruto-chan changed Gaara-kun?' _an awed and confused Chiyo pondered.

"Judging by the expression on your face, it would seem that you might have a first hand experience to draw wisdom and understanding of my words from. Itachi gave us a completely different profile about the Kyubi jinchuuriki, I'm impressed that someone so young and inexperienced was able to decieve Itachi's sharingan. In any case, it was nice knowing you, Uzumaki Naruto." Sasori declared, adopting a one handed ram seal as he flared his chakra, releasing this time a single puppet from his latest storage scroll, a puppet that had Chiyo gasping for air, entering a shock induced state at the site of Sasori's secret weapon.

_'Another puppet? This one looks alot more live-like than the ones from his puppet army, but why would he summon a single puppet after we destroyed a whole one hundred that were summoned previously? This can't be a normal puppet.' _Naruto thought wearily.

"Sasori! W-what have you done! H-how could you!" Chiyo exclaimed hysterically, her mind refusing to accept the level her own self-raised grandson has stooped to.

"Chiyo-baaba, I bet now you're thinking, 'I should have never taught him any kugutsu techniques', isn't that so?" Sasori asked carelessly.

"I knew that the death of your parents affected you, I knew that your innocence was lost on that day that you found out, I taught you kugutsu to give you hope, hope for a brighter future. I taught you so that you could one day have the power to protect your family, I wanted you to become a hero for Suna! S-sasori, I never imagined you would become s-so evil!" Chiyo cried, shedding tears for the first time in twenty years, such was the extremety of the heart break that she felt.

"Hn, people are so judgement and shallow, but most of all, human beings are such hypocrites its almost unbearable. I suppose it goes without saying, having lived the life of a jinchuuriki, you should be able to understand, right, Naruto?"

"Actually, I'm not really sure what the hell is happening, what's the big deal with that puppet anyway?" Naruto asked with a quirked eyebrow.

"Naruto-chan, don't let your guard down, not even for a split second. That's no ordinary puppet, that is a puppet made from the Third Kazekage's corpse, he was the strongest of all the five Kazekages. He had the ability to manipulate magnetic fields and he used that ability to create a powerful kinjutsu, **the iron sand technique**!" Chiyo warned with a grave undertone.

"W-what? You mean he was the one who was responsible for the third Kazekage's disappearance all those years ago? And he can use his powers through his human puppet technique?" Naruto exclaimed in surprise.

"I'm not sure, the last time we spoke about it, Sasori hadn't mastered that technique, but in theory, yes, he is supposed to have access to all of the Sandaime's powers." Chiyo explained.

"I-incredible! This jutsu is almost on the same league as the Nidaime Hokage's edo tensei!" Naruto thought out loud, an awed expression fully displayed on his facial features.

"Heh? You seem more than a little impressed by my jutsu, I can't say I'm not flattered, tell you what Naruto, since I like you so much, I'll let you join my collection. I've been meaning to get myself a close combat powerhouse for a puppet, I can already think of many ways to use that rasengan technique of yours and its variations." Sasori said with pride and confidence, as if victory was already guaranteed.

"Sasori! How could you do this! All this time, you were the one that took away our Kazekage, he was a great man, how could you defile his body and legacy like this? And now you want to do the same to Naruto-chan, I won't allow it!" Chiyo exclaimed.

"The Sandaime Kazekage, a great man? Give me a break!" Sasori exclaimed uncharacteristically, shocking young Naruto and old Lady Chiyo into silence, the two not expecting such an outburst from the otherwise calm and emotionless puppeteer.

"I did everything I could for that village! The ability to create human puppets would have revolutionalized not only the puppet brigades, but Suna military prowess as a whole. We would have been at the very top of the food chain thanks to all my efforts. Imagine, all the enemy kekkei genkei and kinjutsu we could have harnessed from enemy villages and used to strengthen our own military forces. Can you imagine, sharingan, byakugan, yoton, jinton, hyoton, shadow manipulation, the list goes on and on. Not only would I have attained the power to become the Yondaime Kazekage, but I would have been strong enough to protect the whole of Suna from destruction, I would have been able to protect my family!" Sasori said with a very unhidden rage and contempt.

"This power was not only for me, I was willing to share it, the idea was to hand pick three apprentices as soon as I was elected as the next Kazekage. Three trusted students to which I could entrust the future of Suna and share the secrets of my jutsu with. I presented this idea to the Sandaime, and what did he do? What did I get in return for all my efforts!" Sasori vented out.

"S-Sasori..."

"The Sandaime was an egostical biggot who cared only about himself and his own status. He didn't like the idea of someone surpassing him, that histrionic bastard was only concerned with his own popularity and the affection and praise that he had as the Kazekage. He didn't really care about Suna, or at least, he only cared about it as long as he was at the centre of its attention and affections. He was insecure about his title and thus, launched a public slander campaign against me and my kugutsu techniques. Declaring my jutsu a forbidden kinjutsu that dishonours the dead and declaring that Suna would never stoop to such levels, really, the hypocrisy, a ninja village with so many heinous actions developing a sudden sense of morality?" Sasori spat venomously.

"I became a prisoner and a suspect in my own home, A.N.B.U assassins were allocated to watch my every move at all times of the day, and I was banned from ever experimenting with corpses under the penalty of death, I wasn't even allowed to fiddle with enemy corpses. Missions outside the village were no longer assigned to me again and I had to report to the Kazekage every time I wanted to persue a new idea for a puppet technique. I was no longer a Suna citizen, nor was I a Suna shinobi anymore, I was literally made into an enemy...I was a prisoner!" Sasori said, hatred bubbling at the surface of his tone.

"The rest of the village followed in the Kazekage's footsteps like I herd of sheep, they believed every rumour that was spread about me and they too eventually developed a hatred and weariness of me, viewing my very presence as an abomination and a danger to their wellbeing. I tried my best to change people's minds, to make them see the real me, to get them to accept me, but all I got for me efforts was more scorn, more curses, and more humiliation. I was forced to come face to face with reality, and I decided that I would get my vengeance. I would start with the one who started it all, I would kill him and turn him into the very thing that he was so afraid of, I killed the Kazekage and turned him into my first human puppet. Next, was Suna, I made sure to release the information of his disappearance to the other nations, knowing very well that they would seek to destroy Suna in their moment of weakness. Thus, the sparks that would soon burn as bright as the third shinobi war were set in motion. The chaos, destruction, and confusion caused by the war were benificial to me in more ways than one, one of those was the ease with which I was able to plant spies in all of the five great shinobi nations, the beginnings of what would eventually be the greatest spy networking organisation in the hystory of the elemental nations. I later joined an organisation that had need for my services, the Akatsuki, an organisation, unlike Suna, that has a guniune appreciation for my talents. I am a part of something far greater than Suna will ever be!" Sasori declared with finality and certainty.

_'This guy is just a victim of the Sandaime Kazekage's cruelty and manipulations, he and I are not too different after all, nor is the Sandaime Hokage any different from the Sandaime Kazekage.' _Naruto thought bitterly.

"Sasori, I knew the Kazekage very well, he was a charismatic and caring man who loved Suna more than anything. Do you have any idea how many sacrifices that man has made for the betterment of Suna? I can't possibly believe anything that comes out of your mouth right now. Besides, even if I were to believe you, that does not excuse your behaviour, what you and the Akatsuki are doing is simply wrong." Chiyo declared with conviction.

_'Actually, the Akatsuki aren't doing anything different from what Konoha, Suna, and the other hidden villages have been doing for decades now.' _Naruto thought.

Naruto could honestly say that he didn't have any ill feelings towards Akatsuki at all, the bijuu were an important source of power for any organisation that wanted to dictate or at the very least have a contribution to The direction that the current world was going. He didn't know anything about Akatsuki's mission and vision, but he knew very well that if it was as big as what he thought it was, than without a doubt they would need some crazy source of power considering how few of them there were. All they wanted was the to capture the bijuu, it wasn't their fault that the five nations chose to seal them inside humans. By the same token however, it wasn't Naruto's fault that Kurama was sealed inside of him, so if he ended up killing off Akatsuki members, it was only because he was protecting himself and his own dreams and ambitions, it was only because he wanted to create a future for himself and his closest allies, his true friends and future family.

"Chiyo-Baaba, you can remain in your little shell of ignorance for the next few minutes of your life for all I care, I'm done talking, it's time for you to die." Sasori declared confidently.

With a small flicker of the forefinger, the metal from all weapons and joints belonging to the destroyed puppets in the cave dislodged from their respective contrictions and floated in the air, the Suna legend using the third Kazekage's **magnetic release **to control and compress the metal into a multitude of iron needles.

"This is the end." Sasori said, using his control over magnetic fields to repel the hundreds of needles at a speed three times as fast as Hiruko's senbon barrage, all needles closing in on Chiyo alone as the suna rogue nin focused the majority of his killing intent on the, in his opinion, irritating old hag. Meanwhile, more and more iron sand was being released from the third kazekage's mouth in preparation for Sasori's follow up attack and defense against any possible surprise attack, the rogue puppeteer treading cautiously as usual, his experience warning him not to ever let his guard down against any opponent.

Chiyo, realising that her own old bones and muscles wouldn't grant her the speed to dodge such a fast and wide range attack, instantly summoned two puppets with razor sharp weapons on each of their arms, one a male with brown hair and the other a female with red hair, attaching chakra strings to each puppet and using their superior speed and reflexes to deflect all of the large needles away from her own body.

Some of the needles missed her completely and hit the wall behind her, others were deflected to the walls on the sides, and others just fell to the ground harmlessly after being deflected. By this time, Sasori had released all of the available iron sand from inside the Kazekage, the amount quite staggering considering how much there was in comparison to the Kazekage's mouth cavity heck, in comparison to his whole body for that matter.

"Those puppets...? Hn, how devious of you, using my parents against me? If this is your idea of psychological warfare, than you should know, that's not going to work on me. Let me show you what I mean." Sasori declared confidently.

Having said that, Sasori, with another unnoticeable flick of the finger, used the third kazekage's magnetic release to manipulate the weapons that the puppets of his mother and father wielded on each arm, dislodging them from their restrictions and manipulating them to slice the puppets up so fast that Chiyo had no chance to react or counter the attack at all, not that there was a possible counter in her jutsu resevoire, the pieces of the puppets crashing on the ground harmlessly following their destruction, leaving a wide eyed Chiyo who was too shocked to move or say anything at all.

"Now die!" Sasori exclaimed, forming more needles with his iron sand and sending them flying at Chiyo's direction at even faster speeds.

That, however was not the extent of Sasori's attack, the rogue pupeteer also manipulating the needles from his previous assault to attack Lady Chiyo from literally all directions, from the right side, from the left side, from behind, and even from above as some of the needles from the previous assualt had been deflected into the roof of the cave. Chiyo had no way to avoid the assault, she had no ultimate defense, no more puppets to help protect herself, and any weapons she could use now were unavailable thanks to the kazekage's magnetic release and she certainly did not have the speed to dodge all those senbon at those speeds coming from every direction.

_'I suppose this is the end. In the end, mine was a life full of failures, regrets, and no achievements. Naruto-chan, I'm sorry, I couldn't even protect you from my own grandson.' _Chiyo thought on the verge of tears, closing her eyes as she tried to prepair herself for death's cold embrace.

**00000000000000**

_'W-what is this, am I still alive, or am I dead?' _Chiyo thought with confusion as she opened her eyes.

She expected it to be relatively brief, but at the very least, she expected to feel some kind of pain before she passed on to the afterlife. Also, given all the mistakes and horrible decisions she made in her life, she never expected to go to a warm and safe place when she eventually passed on, in fact, she pretty much expected the literally cold and cruel embrace of death, at the welcoming hands of what some would consider to be hell. However, for one reason or another, she felt genuinely warm and protected, as if some magestic blanket was keeping her safe from all the dangers of the world.

"Are you alright, Chiyo-baasama?" Naruto asked, effectively breaking the old lady from her trance, her eyes snapping open as if she just woke up from a nightmare.

"N-Naruto-chan? W-what is this?" Chiyo asked, eyes widening even further in awe at the site that was before and around her.

Her eyes now open, Chiyo was able to observe the jutsu that did and was protecting her, an array of glowing, gold coloured chakra chains that seemed to be anchored on the ground, forming a circular pattern around her. The spaces between the chains were encompassed by a powerful, transparent barrier that was strong enough to deflect Sasori's attack with mind blowing ease.

Both Chiyo and Sasori were able to instantly determine the location of the jutsu's caster, as the chains could be seen clearly originating from the blonde Uzumaki's lower back, projected straight into the ground and up and around Chiyo's location.

_'That jutsu...!' _Sasori thought in surprise.

"This is my **chakra chain barrier technique**, it is a kinjutsu of the Uzumaki clan that can only be learned by people of Uzumaki clan lineage." Naruto replied to Chiyo's question.

"You mean like a bloodline limit technique?" Chiyo asked curiously.

"Yes, a bloodline limit technique." Naruto replied simply.

"So you really are an Uzumaki? I was under the impression that you were a fake, your physical appearance, more specifically, your hair colour does not resemble that of an Uzumaki at all. Sure, you have a strong chakra and a large capacity of chakra too, but that could easily have been atributed to your jinchuuriki status. Also, up until now, you had never displayed any knowledge of sealing or barrier ninjutsu, Uzumaki Naruto, you are quite an enigma, I can't wait to see what other secrets your corpse will reveal to me." Sasori said with genuine intrigue and curiosity.

"I have to agree with him on this one, I also thought you were fake, after all, there is power in a name all on its own, more so of a clan as great as the Uzumaki. Maybe Konoha wanted to hold on to that name to intimidate enemies, basically, as a warning of their strength and resources." Chiyo said as well from inside the chakra chain barrier.

_'So everyone thought I was a fake? Tche, no wonder every enemy I faced laughed at me when I told them who I was.' _Naruto thought, finding it absurd that he was being underestimated all this time because everyone thought he was a fake.

"I've heard about this jutsu before, it was Uzumaki Kushina's trademark technique, does that mean that she is your mother?" Sasori asked curiously.

"I've never seen this technique before, this is the first time I've seen or even heard of it." Chiyo said, almost as if refuting Sasori's claims, or perhaps feeling a little embarrassed that she knew nothing of something that was supposedly public knowledge.

"Many factors would have contributed to that. In the third shinobi war, the legendary sannin and White Fang, Hatake Sakumo were assigned on the Suna and Kiri front, whereas the Yellow Flash and The Red Devil, my mother, were assigned to the Kumo and Iwa frontlines. Because of this, you would have been more likely to clash with Hatake Sakumo and the sannin and not had any encounters with my mother. It would explain why you wouldn't know much about her." Naruto explained neutrally.

_'So she is his mother after all, but if so, who is his father?' _Sasori wondered.

"I see, I suppose you have quite a valid point Naruto-chan..." Chiyo trailed off thoughtfully.

_'Naruto-chan knows more about the passed wars than the other young shinobi of his generation. He is well learnered and well informed about past events, maybe that is what makes him such a good shinobi, maybe he has learned from the mistakes of the past by reading up on his hystory. He's neither a normal shinobi or a normal jinchuuriki is he.' _Chiyo thought.

"I was not aware that the Uzumaki clan had any specific bloodline traits outside of their strong chakra, high capacity reserves, longetivity and durability, and sealing and barrier knowledge. Yet, you seem to be implying the existence of a distinguished bloodline limit, I am curious, what is this bloodline limit exactly?" Sasori asked stoicly.

"That...is a secret." Naruto said with a mischievious smile.

"You impudent little...!" Sasori growled out irritably.

_'He's also however a real shinobi too, he understands the value of secrecy in the shinobi world.' _Chiyo thought appreciatively, even though it somewhat irritated her that she couldn't find out exactly what Naruto's bloodline limit was.

"Really, did you expect me to just give away the information just like that." Naruto retorted with a roll of the eyes.

"No matter, I'll find out sooner or later, I have many years to study your corpse, I'll even get some practise with it." Sasori declared, thinking about how close to invincible he would become with the third Kazekage and Naruto as his puppets.

"No more talking, I've kept people waited for too long anyway, let's finish this." Sasori said, once again channeling the Sandaime's magnetic release to surround Chiyo with metre sized iron needles from all directions.

"Chiyo-baaba is now literally a useless old hag, she no longer has any means to defend herself. All of her puppets are destroyed and all of her weapons can be turned against her. You can't defend her and attack at the same time, you'll have to release the chain barrier in order to go on the offensive. Also, you're a close range fighter, the chains will hinder your movements if you try to go on the offensive while maintaining that barrier. So, Uzumaki Naruto, what will you do?" Sasori asked condensingly.

"I don't mind leaving it as a stalemate for now, you're the one that has issues about making people wait, I on the other hand can stand here the whole day if I want to." Naruto retort smugly, once again, getting on the rogue puppeteer's nerves with his cheeky remarks and unpredictable behaviour.

"Than I'll make you move!" Sasori declared confidently, forming and launching another super fast barrage of iron needles from his abundance of iron sand, except instead of targeting Chiyo as he previous had been doing, now targetting the blonde Uzumaki while at the same time watching Chiyo at the corner of his eye in anticipation of the moment where Naruto is forced to de-activate his barrier.

That was however not to be as Naruto released more chakra chains, this time from his belly, that instantly formed a circular barrier around his own body, the barrier easily deflecting away each and every iron needle that crashed into it. At about the same time that the needles made contact with the barrier, a number of puffs of smoke and poofing sounds could be seen and heard respectively as some of Sasori's defeated puppets turned into replicas of the blonde jinchuuriki, ten of them to be exact, all holding rasengans on their right hands and attacking Sasori from all directions much like he had done against Chiyo with his iron needles.

_'Kuso! He had his clones transformed into my defeated puppets all this time!' _Sasori thought in surprise

_'That's an attack from every direction, there's no where to dodge, he can't escape this one.' _Naruto thought from the safety of his own chakra chain barrier.

**"Rasengan Barrage!" **the clones exclaimed as their attack made direct contact.

**BOOM!**

Was the terrible sound caused by the impact, a strong shockwave as a result washing over the entirety of the cave, sending debri, dust, and puppet body parts flying around the inside of the cave violently, some of it going as far as hitting the barrier that was protecting Chiyo and Naruto respectively.

"Is it over, Naruto-chan?" Chiyo asked with bated breathe.

"N-no! It's not over. My clones have been destroyed." Naruto replied with a serious expression.

"B-but how?" Chiyo asked with a confused expression.

"Look..." Naruto said, pointing his index finger at Sasori's direction as the dust screen cleared to reveal something else where Sasori once stood, a gigantic ball-like barrier made entirely of iron sand with large spikes protruding out in all directions.

**"Daisan no Me!" **Sasori's voice sounded from inside the sphere of iron sand as more iron sand gathered on the upper left portion of the sphere, forming an human sized actual eye complete with a rotating pupil that was floating in the air.

_'It is best for me to continue the battle from the safety of this battle formation, Uzumaki Naruto is full of surprises. Who would have thought that he would have clones henged into puppets, such a juvenile yet deadly effective tactic. I could have been dead now if it wasn't for the kazekage's powers.' _Sasori thought wearily.

"That's Sandaime-sama's sand shield and third eye technique. He's better at controlling the third's powers than I could have thought possible. It's almost like fighting the third himself. We have to be careful Naruto-chan!" Chiyo warned.

"I know, I've seen Gaara use this technique before, in the chunnin exams three years ago. However, this guy's shield seems to be much stronger than Gaara's shield." Naruto replied.

"That is because he is using a strong magnetic force to keep the sand granules locked together, also, iron is generally stronger than actual sand. No one has ever breached Sandaime-sama's shield, its virtually impossible to break through it with any kind of force." Chiyo explained.

"True, this shield is once said to have withstood the force of Shukaku's tailed beast ball. The two of you have no hope of defeating me, surrender yourselves to me, and you shall be granted a peaceful death." Sasori said from inside the sand shield, watching the duo intently through his third eye technique.

"Naruto-chan, how long can you keep these barriers activated?" Chiyo asked suddenly.

"I can keep them up for a whole day probably, maybe more, why?" Naruto asked curiously.

"There is no force capable of breaking through that shield, the key is to inflict a fatal blow before the shield is put in place, once he puts it up, any hope of winning is lost in that moment. But It seems like the same is true for your own barriers too. This battle, in effect is now a stalemate. However, re-inforcements from Suna and Konoha are sure to arrive at a later stage. I'm quite confident that you, as an Uzumaki and a jinchuuriki should be able to outlast Sasori. If we simply wait, re-enforcements will arrive and Sasori along with that puppet will run out of chakra, victory will be assured." Chiyo suggested analytically.

"Heh? I wouldn't be so sure about that if I were you." Sasori laughed confidently.

"He's right, Chiyo-baasama. Just look at him now, his shield, along with that eye are floating in the air. If it comes down to it, Sasori will just retreat by floating out of here. Not only would he escape like that, but because he'd be using the skies, he would also leave no trail for anyone to track him down." Naruto explained, politely refuting Chiyo's plan of action, or rather, plan of no action.

"True, but the Akatsuki still have to hunt down the tailed beasts. His escape will only give us time to prepare an effective battle strategy against him now that we have intel on his abilities." Chiyo said logically.

"No, that's not good enough for me, have you forgetten that he also has intel on my abilities. The whole Akatsuki organisation will know about my progress if he is allowed to escape, I have to finish him off now." Naruto retorted.

"Don't be stupid boy! I already told you that there is no force capable of breaching Sandaime-sama's iron sand shield!" Chiyo chasticed the blonde Uzumaki, angered by the boy's childish impatience and brash attitude.

"Chiyo-baasama, is there anything important that you still want to do?" Naruto asked with a sudden ominous tone.

"Boy, what's gotten into you all of a sudden?" Chiyo asked with a frustrated expression.

"I mean, if we could defeat Sasori, and you were free to leave this cave, is there anything important that you would want to do? Please answer the question before you say anthing else." Naruto demanded with a no nonsense tone.

"I...well, there is something important that I want to do before I leave this earth." Chiyo said solemly.

"And that is?" Naruto asked, more like demanded really.

"There's a jutsu that I created a long time ago, it is a kinjutsu that only I know how to perform. I had saved this jutsu for Sasori in case of an emergency situation. But now, all things considered, maybe it just wasn't meant for him, maybe, maybe it was meant for someone else." Chiyo said, arousing not only Naruto's curiosity but even Sasori's, or rather, especially Sasori's curiosity.

"What jutsu is this?" Naruto asked curiously.

"It is a jutsu to revive the dead by transfering one's own life force to that of the deceased. The renewal of life-force in the body acts as a beacon that attracts the departed soul back to the body, with the effect of the deceased coming back to life." Chiyo explained with sad eyes.

"If what you say is true, than doesn't that mean that you would die? Do you expect me to believe that a synical old hag like you would sacrifice their life for anyone, or do you think that sacrificing yourself will automatically wash away all of the heinous sins you have committed in your life? Give me a break!" Sasori said mockingly.

"It doesn't matter whether my sins are washed away or not, that child deserves a second chance. He doesn't deserve to die like this after everything that he has been put through, after everything he has been forced to sacrifice at such a young age. Unlike you, he was able to look passed himself and his own suffering and think about the wellbeing of others. Unlike you, he was brave enough to endure and change the people of Suna, he was strong enough to battle against adversity and fulfill his dreams." Chiyo said, shocking a pissed off Sasori into silence with her response.

"Y-you plan to ressurect Gaara don't you?" Naruto asked with astonishment and realisation.

"I was the one that sealed Shukaku into him, I was the one that brought darkness into his life. I never helped him afterwards nor did I even apologise for my actions, I acted like I had done absolutely nothing wrong. The least I can do for him now is to give him a chance to live a life without the darkness that Shukaku has overshadowed his life with. A life of new possibilities and brighter avenues to explore, Gaara-kun deserves at least that much." Chiyo said, not even sure why she was pouring her heart out in such a situation.

Naruto was caught in quite a dilemma himself. His plan was initially to kill Chiyo-baasama himself, that was why he had asked her if there was anything important that she wanted to do if they were to survive Sasori. If there was nothing important, than he would kill her with a clear conscience, if there was something that she wanted to do, than he would try and see if he couldn't fulfill that wish for her, after killing her of course. It would have been so easy too with her stuck inside his barrier with no means to defend herself. He would have just crushed her with his chakra chains and than he could easily write it off to the others as Sasori's doing with his iron sand. Chiyo knew too much about him now for his liking, she now knew about his chakra chain technique and she also knew that he knew about his mother, the Uzumaki clan, and the clan's kinjutsu. Not only that, but she also knew he has a bloodline limit, even if she didn't know what it is exactly. None of this was information that he wanted people to know about if he could help it, too many problems would come his way as a result.

Also, Naruto was now aware that he would have to reveal more secrets in order to defeat Sasori after the puppeteer's latest stunt and possible other stunts that he might have up his sleeves. That was going to make Chiyo even more of a loose end. Another reason for wanting to kill her was because she was no longer useful, she in fact was now slowing him down. Without her puppet techniques, she was basically useless in combat, okay maybe not useless in general combat, but certainly useless against someone of Sasori's talents and resources.

Now, however, having heard what Chiyo intended to do, Naruto wasn't so sure what to do. He still wanted to kill her just to be sure, that was the right thing to do according to general shinobi code. But Gaara was one of his few genuine friends, sure, he wasn't as close to him as he was now with Fu-chan, Yakumo-chan, and Neji, but still, outside those three, Gaara was really his only true friend. Not only that, but Fu had passionately argued that they involve the other jinchuuriki in their plans, stating that New Whirlpool should be a place where people like them could enjoy a happy and peaceful existence, also pointing out that it was incredibly unlikely that any jinchuuriki would reject their offer to join them considering who and what they were to each other.

Of course, Naruto had rejected such a plan, for one, two of those jinchuuriki were kages of their own villages therefore had great responsibilities to their people. Those two were unlikely to leave their posts to follow a bunch of teenagers with big dreams, no matter how strong those teenagers were. The rest of the jinchuuriki were either directly related to the current Kages of their villages, or to precious Kage in their villages. Some of them were even part of respected clans in their home villages. Naruto also recognised the danger they would all be in if all of them banded together and formed an organisation. The other villages and Akatsuki wouldn't take that lightly at all. It was possible that they would end up having the whole ninja world band together against them, after all, they would be seen as a danger to all of society. If Iwa, Kumo, and Kiri could form a temporary truce just for the sake of taking out the Uzumaki clan, one can only imagine what the five great nations, and even the other smaller nations would do to stop a jincuuriki alliance. And there would still be the threat of Akatsuki lurking in the shadows on top of that. No, as much as Naruto wanted to help the other jinchuuriki, forming an alliance with them would not be a very good idea.

Still, Naruto knew that Fu might possibly never forgive him if she ever found out that he allowed another jinchuuriki to die needlessly, or rather, to remain dead when he could have helped him, especially one that was supposedly his friend, than she would wonder if he wouldn't do the same to her or their other friends and comrades. Besides, Naruto also didn't like the idea of Gaara dying when he could have done something to help him survive, that would literally make him no different from Sasori or even worse, Orochimaru, not that he was too far off from them now that he actually thought about it,

_'Maybe I should allow her to live for a while, after all, she is going to die if she revives Gaara. Kakashi and Sakura will have their hands full with Deidara, she wouldn't get a chance to brief anyone about what happened anyway. Hmmm...this is a risk, but I guess its one I'll have to take for a friend, besides, I can't keep my skill level a secret forever, worst case scenario is that I have to defect almost immediately. It will also be easier to do it considering how far I am from Konoha.' _Naruto thought logically.

"Alright. I'm going to help you escape while I hold Sasori off. Call for back-up and do what you have to do to help Gaara. We'll meet again in the afterlife, though if you'll excuse me for saying this, I doubt it will be anytime soon." Naruto said without batting an eyelash.

"You can't be serious! You can't possibly be thinking about fighting Sasori on your own, let me help you!" Chiyo retorted passionately.

"I don't mean to offend you, but what do you think you can do to help me now? Take a good look at the situation you're in for a moment." Naruto replied coldly, causing Chiyo's eyes to widen in realisation.

"You're out of puppets and you don't have anything to counter against the Sandaime's magnetic release. In fact, if it wasn't for my intervention, you'd be dead right now. Sasori's is now using you to create openings to attack me because he knows I'll protect you. You've helped me alot to get this far and you've been a great source of information, but you have to learn to let go and allow the next generation to take over, after all, isn't that the very same reason that you want to revive Gaara at the expense of your own life?" Naruto retorted.

_'He's right, as it is now, I'm just a parcel weighing him down. When did I become so useless, has the next generation really surpassed us already?' _Chiyo thought with regret and sadness.

"Okay, do what you have to do Naruto-chan, and I will do what I have to do, but only if you promise me one thing..." Chiyo trailed off.

"And what would that be, Chiyo-baasama?" Naruto asked curiously, hoping beyond hope that he wouldn't be forced to make a promise that he didn't intend to keep.

"Don't die, promise me that you won't die until back up arrives." Chiyo said with hope in her eyes.

"Hn, I have no intention of dying, trust me, you have no reason to worry about anything of the sort." Naruto said with a cheeky smile, causing Chiyo herself to smile happily, almost as if Naruto's words alone were fact that couldn't be changed no matter what.

_'When did I start caring about what happens to foreign shinobi? Naruto-chan really does have something special about him, the power to change people huh?' _Chiyo thought with a mental shake of the head.

_'But more importantly, how does Naruto-chan intend to help me escape, no, even more importantly, how does he intend to defeat Sasori? Does he really have something that can destroy the magnetic iron shield?' _Chiyo wondered with uncertainty.

"Ok, Chiyo-baasama, I want you to start running as soon as I release the barrier, you should be able to make it to the outside when the time comes." Naruto ordered authoratively.

"Okay." Chiyo acknowledged.

_'So he really does have something else up his sleeve.' _Chiyo thought, watching in awe as a second Naruto popped into existence next to the blonde Uzumaki, the clone waving its hands around Naruto's right arm as it infused wind chakra into the rasengan that Naruto was now holding on his right arm, turning the jutsu into a spiraling chakra shuriken with an ear popping, screeching sound.

**"Fuuton: Rasenshuriken!" **Naruto anounced with his right hand held upwards.

_'He infused fuuton into the rasengan to create a chakra shuriken? This jutsu is no doubt on another level, an S-class jutsu without question. However, this technique, no matter how strong he thinks it is, can't be more powerful and destructive than Shukaku's tailed beast ball. I should be safe as long as I remain inside this sphere.' _Sasori thought.

"Naruto-chan, I don't know what you think that jutsu can do, but you can't..." Chiyo trailed off as the blonde cut her out mid-sentence.

"This jutsu releases millions of microscoping chakra needles upon contact, in other words, it destroys living beings and objects alike at molecular level. So you see, it doesn't matter how strong Sasori's shield is, the microscopic wind blades should be able to penetrate the sphere and make contact with Sasori himself. Even if they don't manage to do this, the shield will be dismantled and there will be an opening to attack." Naruto explained much to both Chiyo and Sasori's amazement, or rather, horror and fear on Sasori. However, having realised the possible danger he was in, Sasori quickly established an iron sand formation of needles around the blonde Uzumaki as insurance.

"You'll have to take down the chain barrier in order to attack me with that jutsu, unless you believe that you're actually fast enough to dodge all of these needles." Sasori taunted.

"That's what you think!" Naruto said confidently, drawing his arm backwards before throwing the chakra shuriken towards Sasori's sand shield with all his might.

"Fool...what!" Sasori thought out loud as the blonde Uzumaki once again pulled off an unexpected manuever.

Sasori, having seen the blonde Uzumaki throw that nasty looking shuriken, expected him to drop the chakra chain barrier, as that would and should be expected unless he wanted to commit suicide. Therefore, one can understand why Sasori would be caught off guard when the blonde didn't drop the barrier but instead simply allowed the chakra shuriken to faze through the barrier somehow. Sasori's first thought when this happened was that the blonde Uzumaki had cancelled the barrier already but had set up an illusion of the barrier in it's place. However, that was immediately disproved as his chakra needles, which had been timed to pass through the point where the barrier would have been at the same moment that the chakra shuriken was expected to do the same, were deflected away from the blonde Uzumaki. This told Sasori that the Barrier was indeed still active, a scenario which then begged the question, how did the shuriken faze through the barrier?

_'Does that mean that he can de-activate specific areas of the barrier while leaving others still activated?' _Sasori pondered with what would have been a confused expression had he possessed a real human body.

However, Akusuna no Sasori did not have the time to entertain such trivial thoughts, not when death was literally flying towards him at breakneck speeds. With survival firmly imbedded into his mind, Sasori ejected himself and the third Kazekage from the back of the sand sphere a good second before the rasenshuriken made contact with the sand, the legendary puppeteer jumping down with the intention of landing safely on the surface of the cave far below the sand shield and consequently, far away from the rasenshuriken's trajectory.

Naruto, with instaneous speed, released the barrier around both himself and Chiyo, wrapped a chakra chain around her ankle, and literally threw her through the doorway and out of the cave. Following that manuever, the blonde jinchuuriki cancelled the chakra feed to the chains, causing the jutsu to collapse and disapear altogether. Everything was done so fast that even after all that, the chakra shuriken had yet to make contact with the iron shield and Sasori had not reached the surface of the cave yet. This was just how Naruto planned it out to be as the stage was set perfectly for him to execute the next faze of his plan to assassinate Akasuna no Sasori.

**"Swift Release: Shadowless Flight!" **Naruto and the shadow clone on his right hand side whispered simultaneously.

Naruto and his shadow clone flew at his enemy at hypersonic speeds, the original targeting the third kazekage and the clone targeting the real Sasori, both ramming their respective rasengans on the abdomen of their targets with great velocity, aggression, and strength, the power and speed behind the attack was so great that the Sasori and the kazekage went right through the backwall and out the other side of the cave along with the two blondes before the effects of the rasengan took effect, the duo getting flung away a great distance, crashing through many boulders and even trees before crashing into the ground, the impact leaving large craters around where their bodies landed.

Sasori had no idea what happened, largely due to the fact that he didn't even see what happened to begin with. All he remembered was that he had escaped through the back of the iron shield with the intention to surprise attack the blonde Uzumaki, he certainly didn't expect to find himself at the bottom of a crater one hundred metres away from the cave.

**BOOM!**

Naruto once again had to activate his chakra chain barrier to protect himself as the rasenshuriken, after all that. finally exploded, destroying the whole Akatsuki base in the process as dust and debris flew around the entirety of the battlefield. The fact that the jutsu was only now taking effect was a true testament of the blonde Uzumaki's speed with the swift release. Naruto waited patiently for everything to settle down before de-activating his barrier, marvelling at the sheer power and destruction caused by the rasenshuriken as he observed the site of the former Akatsuki base.

_'One Akatsuki down, aproximately nine more to go...what!' _Naruto trailed off, eyes wide in utter shock and surprise, his senses detacting a presence havoring behind him a good thirty metres above the surface. Without hesitatation, Naruto spun around to face his seemingly immortal opponent, eyes widening even further in surprise when he took in the site before his eyes.

Sasori's Akatsuki cloak and the Kazekage's clothes were torn to shreds by the fatal damage that should have been sustained by the puppeteer and his puppet respectively, but there was no actual injury in site. Instead, each of their bodies were covered with numerous cracks all over their bodies, more especially the area branching out from the dent where Naruto's rasengans had made contact. However, the cracks and even the dent mended together and disappeared before Naruto's very own eyes.

Naruto wanted to smack his head into a wall with realisation at his own foolishness. Yes, he'd sensed that Sasori and the Kazekage's bodies seemed to be shrouded in some kind of thin layer of chakra, but he'd ignored that particular detail as he couldn't make out what it meant exactly. He'd actually thought that maybe Sasori was preparing a jutsu, a jutsu that he considered to be irrelevant because he was going to use swift release to strike first. He should have, but he never realised that the chakra shrouding that he sensed was actually this, he now realised who inpired most and even possibily, every jutsu in Gaara's arsenal.

_'He covered his and the kazekage's whole body with iron sand for protection against physical attacks. This is the same technique as Gaara's sand armour technique, except, this one is much stronger. Impressive, Sasori really did master the kazekage's powers to their full extent, I suppose it's to be expected, he's a real genius, not to mention, he's actually had the kazekage in his arsenal for roughly twenty years now, that should have given him more than enough practise time.' _Naruto thought

"Uzumaki Naruto, you have done well to survive this long against me. I haven't been pushed this far since I fought Leader-sama." Sasori said with a serene expression.

_'Uzumaki Naruto is predominately a close range combatant, this is good. Now that we're outside of the cave, I can actually fly out of his attack range while I attack him from the skies. This is after all, one of the main strengths of the third's iron sand technique.' _ Sasori thought delightedly.

"Leader, who is this leader exactly?" Naruto asked curiously.

"You won't get any answers from me, unless you think you can force them out of me." Sasori said simply.

"What a cocky thing to say, is it because you think you're safe from me now that you're flying?" Naruto asked retorically.

"Save your words, they are meaningless. I won't suddenly lose my temperament and respond to your taunting, You won't be able to manipulate me into close combat, I'm immune to such trivial emotions and urges." Sasori retorted.

"I see, well in that case..." Naruto trailed off, the blonde focusing his chakra with his left hand formed into a one handed ram seal.

**"Secret Jutsu: Chakra Suppression Chains!" **Naruto said calmly.

Following the instant that Naruto anounced the name of his technique, a sealing matrix appeared over the kazekage's abdomen as a multitude of gold coloured, glowing chakra chains burst out of the seal and wrapped themselves tightly around the the puppet's limbs and body.

The effect of this new development was immediate, the chakra chains were meant to not only restrict movement but to supress chakra as well. Therefore, with the kazekage's chakra no longer accessible, this meant that Sasori no longer had the ability to manipulated iron sand, hence the immediate collapse of Sasori **iron sand armour **and the fall of the 'flying mat like' sand that he was standing on and using defy gravity.

Without these iron sand benefits, Sasori found himself forced to detach the chakra threads connecting him to the kazekage as he was sent plummeting from the skies along with the chained up kazekage. Naruto waited for the moment just before Sasori landed on the ground before activating the **swift release: shadowless flight technique **again, this time aiming for Sasori's chest cavity after seeing what Sasori looked like without his cloak. Sasori, with his iron sand armour falling off, and about to make contact with the ground realised immediately that landing on that surface would be to the literal and true death of him, that is why, with that realisation, Sasori activated a seal on his back, a seal that projected a set of spinning wings on his back. This manuever proved to be life-saving as Naruto's attack missed completely, the blonde hitting thin air as Sasori trajectory was all of a sudden completely reversed, the puppeteer flying up and away from the surface to the safety of the skies once again.

Naruto took this in stride though, the blonde Uzumaki not betting an eyelash at all, simply cancelling his rasengan and changing his trajectory and direction so that he can catch the falling kazekage in his arms before it crashed into the ground. Following that manuever, Naruto released a storage scroll from a storage seal on his left wrist, spread it out on the surface and sealed the kazekage into the scroll, the scroll poofing away and into his storage seal only a moment later.

_'He sealed away the kazekage...?' _Sasori thought, not really sure what to make of the blonde Uzumaki's actions. Naruto, seeing the questioning look on his adversary expression went on to explain without any verbal prompting from the rogue puppeteer.

"Earlier, I disrespected your art by calling you an old man that likes to play with dolls, I would like to take that back, in fact, I would actually like to apologise for that. Your art is simply amazing and incredibly dangerous. Actually, you are the most powerful opponent I have ever faced by a substantial margin." Naruto said sincerely.

"What does that have to do with you sealing away my prized possession?" Sasori asked curiously, seemingly unfazed by the blonde Uzumaki's flattery.

"I want to study this human puppet technique of yours, it would be a great technique to add to the Uzumaki clan archives." Naruto said honestly.

"I thought so, your words of praise were insincere after all." Sasori said, causing the blonde Uzumaki to frown with confusion.

"What do you mean?" Naruto asked.

"You praise me as the strongest opponent you have ever faced and even claim to have a genuine desire to learn my art because of how powerful it is, yet, at the same time, you talk down to me as if victory is already assured for you. The fact that you think that you will live long enough to exume that puppet body and learn its secrets is more than enough proof of your insincerity." Sasori said with a strict and critical attitude.

"Oh...I see what you mean. However, you'll have to forgive me, but I don't see how you can win this battle now, not only have you lost your trump card, but your one weakness has also been revealed to me. What can you do in your current situation?" Naruto asked, pointedly staring at the 'heart' box in Sasori's chest cavity that contained the only living remains of his original human body.

"We shall see about that, Uzumaki Naruto!" Sasori said venomously.

_'Uzumaki Naruto is unpredictable, I never imagined someone like him would be interested in learning what many have considered to be an abomination of a technique that disrespects the dead. Not only that, but he's exceptionally smart, he even intended to capture the kazekage from the beginning. Earlier, he explained the mechanics behind the rasenshuriken to Chiyo-baaba, but that explanation was not intended for her, it was intended for me.' _Sasori thought as he tried to retrace the steps that lead him to exactly where he was at the moment.

_'He wanted to kill me, but he didn't want to destroy the kazekage puppet, so he indirectly warned me of the danger so that I can escape the rasenshuriken. At the time, I thought it was his inexperience that made him give away such important information, but I was the one who was being exploited instead. He just wanted me and the kazekage out of that sphere at any cost. Furthermore, when he and his clone hit us with rasengan, he used a low powered rasengan on the kazekage and a fully powered one on me, that's how it felt and that was also proven by the minimal amount of damage on the kazekage's sand armour compared to mine. Also, at the same time, he placed a sealing jutsu on the kazekage but didn't place one on me. This is further confirmation that he was going for the kill with regards to me but was only trying to capture the kazekage puppet. However, the sealing jutsu would have been unneccessary if I had died from that rasengan because there would have no longer been a puppeteer to control the kazekage. What was on his mind at the time then? Did he expect me to survive somehow or did he think that I had traps within the kazekage set to activate upon my death, or traps set to activate if someone else tried to fiddle with the puppet? Those are the only possible reason for using the sealing jutsu on the kazekage only and not me, why else would he have done that?' _Sasori thought, unable to help himself but to fear for the outcome of this battle. He would never admit this to anyone, but the blonde jinchuuriki's powers, combined with his intellect, scared the crap out of him.

Sasori, snapping out of his reverie, released a number of seals himself, two on each side of his torso, below his arms, and one on each of his shoulders. The seals glowed only for a moment and than, with a puff of smoke released Sasori's latest attack formation, each seal releasing an extra arm for Sasori to use in combat. Sasori controlled all eight arms to point downwards with the palms of each hand open and facing downwards as a seal formed on each of the palms.

_'He's got what now, eight arms? What is that supposed to be used for?' _Naruto thought wearily.

_'I need to confirm the extent of his speed before doing anything else. This should do the trick.' _Sasori thought, the rogue puppeteer channeling his chakra to each of his palms, each of the seals on each palm to be exact.

**"Secret Puppet Art: Water Jet Barrage!" **Sasori whispered, the seals on his palms shooting water jets at ridiculous speeds simultaneously and continuously.

**"Swift Release: Flash Step Technique!" **Naruto whispered before disapearing from his position altogether.

Sasori's water jet was a jutsu comprised of a storage seal variation that stored a near limitless amount of water, compressed said water, and expelled it in a compressed form at inhuman speeds. One seal had the ability to release these jets at continuous intervals with barely any time at all between intervals. On top of that, the seal was placed on the palm of a puppet arm, a puppet arm that itself had the ability to twist around and move about with inhuman reflexes, agility and speed. Now, take that altogether, and add the fact that there are actually eight of those arms shooting successive barrages of water jets that are fast and powerful enough to penetrate almost any defense, and one can imagine what kind of danger a shinobi facing this technique would find themselves in, especially considering that Sasori created this jutsu as a potential counter to Namikaze Minato's flying thinder god technique, after all, who in the shinobi world hadn't heard of the Yellow Flash of Konoha and his heroics on the battlefield.

Sasori didn't know whether to be surprised or not. What he was seeing was something that should not be possible, yet he was seeing it with his very own eyes, ok so he didn't have actual eyes anymore, but his puppet body did, and what it was seeing should not have been possible. It literally looked like Naruto was everywhere at the same time, to the point that Sasori wasn't even aiming to hit Naruto anymore, how could he, when there were so many after-images of him all over the battlefield. He was now just launching the water jets everywhere that he 'thought' the blonde might be and everywhere else around the battle ground. He knew it wasn't a genjutsu, and he could tell that it wasn't an illusionary ninjutsu either, the blonde jinchuuriki really was moving at that kind of speed.

The battle proceeded in this manner for the next twenty five minutes straight. Sasori knew that it was hopeless, but he was hoping that Naruto would get tired enough to slow down, become sloppy in his movements, or both. But neither happened, Naruto's stamina was quite ridiculous, even for a jinchuuriki, Sasori had to find out the hard way, his water jet seals eventually running out of water, something else that he'd never experienced or seen before. Just as well, Sasori supposed, those seals required quite a substantial amount of chakra to maintain altogether, he wouldn't have been able to keep it up for much longer anyway.

"Is that it, was that your ultimate offensive jutsu?" Naruto asked.

"No, I have another one, but I already know that it won't work either, not against your chakra chain barrier. And I know now that your reflexes are good enough to activate it in time, so you see, it's pointless now. I can't defeat you." Sasori conceded with the same even tone and stoic demeanor.

"So than, you'll surrender and allow me to kill you?" Naruto asked with a quirked eyebrow, not really believing that Sasori would admit defeat so casually.

"No, I still have enough chakra to fly out of here safely. I'll retreat for now and warn the others about you. Probably, Leader will send a team more equiped to deal with your unique powers, or maybe, just maybe, he'll come after you himself. Hn, that would be interesting to see." Sasori said with amusment.

"That would be the smart thing to do, but I'm sorry, I can't allow you to do that." Naruto said, snapping his hands together in concentration and flaring his chakra slightly.

_'He's preparing another jutsu? I better fly away quickly...n...nani!' _Sasori thought in surprise, looking down only to see a spear made out of ice sticking out of his chest cavity, right through the 'heart box' that contains the only remains of his actual flesh.

"Forgive me, but I cannot allow any harm to come to Naruto-kun, this is the end of the line for you, Sasori-san." Sasori heard a soft but emotionless voice coming from behind him.

The rogue Suna puppeteer's head twisted around in an unnatural, complete one eighty degree to get a clear view of what exactly transpired. One can imagine his surprise when he saw not only the face of his murder, but also the method of attack that was used to execute the deed, the Akatsuki member coming face to face with an afeminate male figure with big brown eyes and long ravern hair with a pony tail tied with a topnot and two long bangs framing his soft and strangely beautiful facial features, the figure wearing a a dark blue kimomo with black shinobi pants wrapped with white bandages at the ankles and dark blue shinobi sandals, carrying a single weapons pouch located on his left thigh.

"Y-you? That jutsu, you're Momochi Yuki Haku aren't you, you're supposed to be dead!" Sasori exclaimed uncharacteristically, staring at the strange scene with disbelief. The young boy, looking no older than 15 years old was protruding only half of his body from a mirror made out of ice, holding a spear, also made out of ice on his right hand, the same spear that was responsible for fatal damage that Sasori just a few moments ago sustained.

"Naruto-kun was concerned and weary about getting captured by you and your friends, so he summoned me before he departed for this mission, asking only that I watch his back and help him win if it looks like he is about to lose. I accepted of course, he is after all, a very precious person to me." Haku replied simply.

"Did you just say that you were summoned?" Sasori asked harshly, experiencing a combination of emotions at the same time, astonishment, realisation and disbelief being the predominent ones.

"You're about to die anyway, so there's no harm in telling you, I was summoned through the edo tensei technique, you're not the only one that can use the powers of the deceased it seems." Haku stated matter of factly, proceeding to disintergrate his ice spear and teleport both himself and Sasori to Naruto's location, it seemed his master and dear friend wanted to have a word with the puppeteer before his departure to the afterlife.

**End of Chapter**

**Yeh he used edo tensei to beat Sasori, bet you didn't expect that huh? In any case the next chapter will have more revelations. It will be part two of this 'a bond between enemies'. **

**Yes, I will explain how he knows edo tensei, why he ressurrected Haku in particular etc etc. And no, Naruto will not become a puppeteer, there are other ways for him to use the kazekage's puppet. Don't try to guess, I guarantee you will get it wrong. **

**Just wait for the next chapter for the answers, don't try to guess, no one in any of my fics has EVER accurately predicted what was coming next. They always think it's obvious when it's actually not, its like writting a multiple choice test, you know when the answer is too obvious to be true? Yeh, it usually is.**

**Anyway hope yaw enjoyed, if you didn't, oh well, one can't please everyone no matter how hard they try. Unless one lives in Obito and Madara's infinite tsukiyomi of course.**

**I will read the chapter again and fix the grammar errors soon.**

**Peace.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Diclaimer: **I do not own Naruto or any other series I might use for inspiration.

**Chapter 3**

_**The Promise**_

"The Nidaime Hokage's reanimation jutsu huh? Uzumaki Naruto, you are one interesting individual indeed, I never would have expected this kind of jutsu from someone like you." Sasori said with what would have been a smile on his face had he possessed a normal human body, the puppeteer now standing a lone metre away from the blonde Uzumaki with Haku now standing on Naruto's right hand side.

"We both underestimated each other, I never expected something as crazy as the human puppet technique from you either." Naruto said with an amused smile plastered on his face.

"Heh, modesty even in the face of victory, you're a strange person, I can't honestly say that I have met anyone like you before, not counting myself of course."

"You've been drawing comparisons between us for quite a while now, initially, I had no idea where you were coming from, that is until I heard the story about your past. You see, I was also betrayed and manipulated by the sandaime hokage, and his students seem to have taken a page from his book too. I also know, just like you, what it feels like to face scorn and hatred from your own countrymen. To have your own people, the people you have spent your entire life protecting throw all your efforts back at your face, even wishing that you would simply disappear and never return, that is one of the greatest of pains a person can ever experience. Even though you're not a jinchuuriki, I can't help but feel like you and I could come to understand one another." Naruto said nostalgically.

"You have presented some interesting points, all of which I would find it hard to dispute. But where are you going with this, Uzumaki Naruto?" Sasori asked curiously.

"Earlier, you told me that you and I could have become good friends in a different world. That got me thinking, what if I were to create this different world? If I were to succeed and create the world that you were talking about, would you be willing to give our friendship a chance? Would you be able to put the past behind you and put in a sincere effort in starting a new life by my side, as friends?" Naruto asked with a dead serious tone, staring at Sasori's 'eyes' with an inquisitive expression.

"Are you aware of the fatal injury that your friend from the Yuki clan has inflicted on me? Unless you can create this new world of yours within the next five minutes, there is no value in even considering your words at this point." Sasori said matter of factly.

"Than let me ask you this retorical question, are you aware of my ability to ressurrect the dead with the edo tensei technique?" Naruto asked with condensing sarcasm.

"So by friendship, you actually meant that you wanted me to be a mere puppet in your jutsu arsenal?" Sasori asked indignantly.

"I don't understand why you're so offended, have you taken a good look at yourself lately? You're already a puppet, and I had nothing to do with that, you did that all by yourself." Naruto retorted with a truimphant smirk.

"Hehehe! That was a good one Naruto-kun, I don't think he has a comeback for that." Haku said with an amused smile.

"I know, but anyway, that was just a joke, Sasori-san. I don't intend to turn you into a puppet, at least, not my puppet." Naruto said, adopting a serious tone and expression once again.

"Than whose puppet would I become?" Sasori asked with a hint of sinicism.

"Right now, you're your own puppet, and that is how it would be when I ressurrect you. Don't think that I don't know what you were trying to do when you did this to yourself, I understand perfectly. When we first met, you were arguing with Deidara about what true art really is. That time, you said that art is something that has a beauty that is everlasting, something that can transcend time itself. You than went on to allude to the fact that your puppets do exactly that, they trascend time and can exist for a countless number of years. Following that, I than found out that you tried to turn yourself into those very puppets that you claimed to have the ability to transcend time and add the fact that your former partner in the Akatsuki was Orochimaru, someone who has sought immortality since he was but a teenager, well...when I put all of that into account, it makes it quite easy to discern what your greatest dream is in this world. You wish to become immortal, to exist forever so that you can continue to make breakthroughs in your art. You wish to create one of the greatest, if not the greatest of legacies in the history of the elemental nations, even surpassing that of the sage of the six paths, isn't that right, Sasori?" Naruto asked retorically.

"..."

"..."

"Listen, I'm not trying to turn you into my puppet. The body of a reanimated person is ageless, immortal, and has an unlimited chakra pool, in other words, the reanimated person's body has the ability to transcend time itself. I won't bind you to my will, I'll allow you to be yourself, I'll even use the Uzumaki clan's contract seal if it will make you feel any better..."

"Contract seal? What is that jutsu? What is it's purpose?" Sasori asked with sudden curiosity.

"The contract seal is a kinjutsu of the Uzumaki clan created as a counter to the summoning technique. The application of this seal severes the connection between the summoner and his summons. Since the reanimation technique is a summoning variation, the contract seal should be able to severe the connection between a reanimated body and it's summoner. Sasori, you're running out of time, you're going to die soon, please make your decision." Naruto pleaded with a concerned expression.

"Why, why are you willing to go this far for me? I tried to capture you and eventually kill you, I threatened to torture you, and even threatened your lover. Why would you go this far for someone like me? And what guarantee do you have that I won't betray you? I'm still a member of the Akatsuki." Sasori asked incredulously.

"Because you remind me of myself, killing you without giving you a second chance would be the same as killing myself. Your methods, your history, your personality, and even your dreams aren't too different from mine. In fact, you and I are so much alike that it hurts just to witness the end of your road. If this is how it ends for you, than what does that say about my future?"

"You're so naive, you really think that I will betray the organisation for a stranger like you? Listen to me carefully, Akatsuki is a well organised institution with a clear vision and step by step process and plan to achieve its goals. Akatsuki has given me purpose, a goal to look forward to and they have even entrusted me with an important role in the organisation. I run one of the most essential departments in the organisation, the espionage devision. Akatsuki, unlike my former friends and family, did not judge me or fear me, instead, they appreciated my talents, even lorded them and even found a good use for them. If you believe for one second that I will betray them for you, than you are even more foolish than I originally thought." Sasori said with unwavering conviction.

"Sasori, I don't think you understand what I was trying to say. I'm not as naive as you seem to think I am, thinking like that only tells me how much you're still underestimating me."

"And what is that supposed to mean exactly?" Sasori demanded.

"I would never ask you to betray your comrades, just as I will never betray my true comrades. I have founded a new organisation, we go by the name, Akakitsune. This organisation's purpose is to kill each and every member of the Akatsuki, to destroy Konoha, and finally, to help in rebuilding the new village hidden in the whirlpools. This is part of the new world that I plan create, however, I'm not naive enough to believe that the other ninja villages will sit idly while all of this is happening. Suna, as allies of Konoha, will likely become an enemy to our new organisation, Kumo, Kiri, and Iwa were originally responsible for the destruction of the Old Whirlpool Village. A re-establishment of the village will be seen as a major threat by them. As a result, a fourth great shinobi war is a very likely result whichever way you look at it. There are strong strings that connect you with the Akatsuki, but in the new world that I plan to create, Akatsuki does not exist, and depending on how negotiations with the Kazekage Gaara go, Suna will not exist either. This is when I plan to ressurect you, when the strings that connect you to your past have been completely severed, enabling you to form new strings to connect with us, the New Whirlpool Village. I want you to help us win the fourth shinobi world war. At the end of this war, there will only be one remaining village. It will be the last war, we will take over everything at the end of this war and unite the shinobi world into one unit, just like the samurai have done in the land of will finally be peace in the world." Naruto explained with conviction.

_'I can't believe it. Who would have thought that such I young child would conceive something like this. So than, this means that all that talk about becoming Hokage was a load of rubbish altogether, he never intended to become the Hokage, but rather, his real dream is to become the Uzukage. Hehehe! Uzumaki Naruto, you and I will make good friends indeed.' _Sasori thought with intrigue and dare he say, a little excitement.

"With the destruction of Konoha and Akatsuki, there will be an abundance of corpses to use for your Human Puppet Technique, and an abundance of dna for me to use the reanimation technique. These jutsu will help us compensate for our shortage in numbers as a new hidden village. I do have a few clans that have joined the village already, but they won't be enough. The reanimation jutsu will be needed, so will your human puppet technique." Naruto explained, taking a short breathe before asking the make or break question.

"So, what will you do, Sasori-san, will you join the Hidden Whirlpool Village, will you become my friend?" Naruto asked with bated breathe.

"..."

"..."

"Alright, I have heard you, Uzumaki Naruto. And yes, if you manage, as unlikely as that is, to create a world in which Akatsuki no longer exists, I will believe in you. I will believe in your vision, and I will sincerely give our friendship a chance. I will join the Village Hidden in the Whirlpools. From that moment onwards, I will become Sasori of the Blood Red Whirlpools." Sasori answered sincerely

"Blood Red Whirlpools? What do you mean by that?" Haku asked curiously.

"Blood has to spilled in order for Uzushiogakure to exist, the blood of Akatsuki, the blood of Konoha, and the blood that will be spilled in the fourth shinobi war. Therefore, it is only appropraite for me to take on such a name." Sasori answered simply.

"I see..." was all Haku said in response.

_'Naruto-kun is determined to fulfill his dream even though he knows what it will cost to achieve it. He's resolve is much greater than mine.' _Haku thought worriedly and even shamefully, knowing that he never would have had the strength to carry such a burden. He didn't have it in him to take a life no matter what the circumstances, the only reason he was able to deliver the fatal blow on Sasori was because Naruto used a control tag on him that took away his feelings of remorse. If it wasn't for that, his fear of taking a life would have hindered his ability to protect his best friend.

"Thank you, Sasori, your help will be appreciated, and most importantly, I'm glad that you gave us a chance, you won't regret this." Naruto promised.

"I should hope so, in any case, I don't have much time, so listen up." Sasori said, quickly channeling his chakra to the storage seal on his left arm, the seal, with a puff of smoke, releasing two books. One of them was a small hand book and the other a very thick and heavy book.

"What are those?" Naruto asked with a quirked eyebrow.

"The big one is a manual containing every single piece of information not only about Kugutsu in general, but about the secrets of my personalized kinjutsu, human puppet jutsu included. I thought that you would need this since you have taken possession of the Sandaime Kazekage. The small book is my journal containing my day to day running of my spy network and all the names, locations, and secrets of my contacts. It also contains meeting dates and alot of other interesting facts. For this, I only ask one thing in return..." Sasori trailed off suggestively.

"And that is?" Naruto asked curiously.

"That you let it be known to the whole world that you are the prized student of Akasuna no Sasori. That is all I ask." Sasori said as if merely talking about the weather.

"I'm sorry, Sasori-san, but I can't do that." Naruto replied to the surprise of both Sasori and Haku.

"What did you say...!" Sasori asked incredulously.

"This technique, I did not intend to use it for myself, it contradicts with my fighting style. I intended to discover its secrets and pass them on to one of my dear comrades. She needs it alot more than I do, not only that, but she also has a jutsu that would compliment this one to a great extent. But I will ask her to tell everyone that you are her sensei, I don't think she'll have a problem with it at all." Naruto said.

"I see...so, who is this person? As her sensei, I deserve to know her name at the very least." Sasori asked with more than a little curiosity.

"Her name is Kurama Yakumo, here is a picture of her." Naruto said, pulling out a picture of the exotic beauty from a seal on his left wrist and showing it to the Akatsuki puppeteer.

"Kurama Yakumo huh? A member of the nearly extinct Kurama clan, where did you find someone like this?" Sasori asked with a pleased undertone.

"I found her in Konoha. She is a once in a century Kurama clan genius. Her illusions have the power to twist and alter reality itself, however, she has suffered from a chronic illness that has severely limited her physical capabilities, so much so that she was declared unfit to become a shinobi and de-registered from the Konoha ninja ranks. I was able to cure her recently, but she is still a few years behind in her physical conditioning. During our fight, I realised that kugutsu enables the user to execute taijutsu and kenjutsu attacks that a normal human is incapable of producing. This should make up for her lack of physical training. Also, with her powerful, wide range, and nearly unbreakable reality altering genjutsu, she can manipulate the battlefield to her liking, heck, if she wanted to, she could even manipulate an enemy into believing the human puppet to be real thing. I have other ideas for her specifically in which she could use this jutsu, but she is the only that can pull it off..." Naruto trailed off as his mind was suddenly bombarded with a lot of crazy ideas for Yakumo's version of the human puppet technique.

_'He's getting excited about someone else attaining power. Does he really trust this girl this much? Isn't he worried about her getting so strong?' _Sasori pondered.

"Are you sure about this Naruto-kun? Can you really trust her with so much power?" Haku, as if reading Sasori's thoughts, asked.

"Huh? Of course! Why wouldn't I trust her? Besides, this is for her own safety, she needs to have something that will make up for her current physical weakness. She's taken on a big risk by helping us with our goals, the least I can do is to look out for her wellbeing. Besides, if any one of our comrades gets stronger, than that is the same as us getting stronger, we are all different parts that, together, form one body, remember that!" Naruto said with conviction.

"I...I think I understand. Please forgive me, I didn't mean to be so negative." Haku apologized with a polite bow of the head.

_'He's different from him. Zabuza-sama ruled with an iron fist, using overwhelming power to attain comrades and fear to prevent them from betraying him. Naruto-kun on the other hand gathers allies through friendship and uses trust and love to win over their loyalties. Two extremely different methods but equally effective, however, loyalty gained through fear can be lost easily if someone more powerful and scarier comes along, but loyalty gained from love and compassion cannot be lost so easily even in the face of certain death. Also, a leader who has the love of his comrades breads a much more powerful shinobi force than one who rules with an iron fist, after all, a person can only attain true stength if he has something precious to protect.' _Haku thought nostalgically.

"Don't worry about it, I understand where you're coming from, I just want you to also understand where I am coming from that's all."

"I understand, and...I agree with you, I think that's a good and reasonable way of looking at it." Haku replied.

"In any case, I have entrusted everything to you, Naruto. Take care of my apprentice until my return."

"I have no intention of doing otherwise." Naruto said with determination.

"I know. Also, there's one more thing..." Sasori trailed off.

**0000000000000**

_'So Kabuto is Sasori's spy in Orochimaru's circle, who would have thought. _Naruto thought with intrigue and a little excitement, unable to help but chuckle at the image of Kabuto's possible reaction when he finds out that the 'talentless idiot' that Kabuto so easily dismissed as nothing but a failure three years ago has not only defeated his master, but is now his boss.

_'Heh, I never thought I'd be looking forward to seeing him again, life is so amazing, so full of miracles.' _Naruto thought with amusement.

"So you'll simply present this prototype as Sasori's real body to Suna and give the real body to Yakumo-san to use for her puppet techniques?" Haku asked curiously.

"You heard what Sasori said right, he doesn't want Suna to profit from his achievements. Frankly, I also don't want to face the possibility of fighting against Sasori's real body again, so yes, that's what I'm going to do." Naruto replied casually.

"Hmmm...I suppose you're right, but what about the information that Sasori revealed about Kabuto, are you going to meet up with him at the Tenchi Bridge?" Haku asked curiously.

"Yes, I will meet up with him of course, I want to hear what he has to say. Also, this will give me the opportunity to kill Orochimaru and take what I can from his research. If there is one thing that I have learned, it is that knowledge is power, I have now got in my possession, all of Sasori's knowledge, if I can get Orochimaru's as well, it will more than make up for what I lack in experience. But not only that, this jutsu knowledge and scientific research will help to ensure the future of the Uzumaki clan and, by association, the Village Hidden In The Whirlpools." The blonde Uzumaki explained.

"I see, but how are you going to go there and come back without detection? Konoha has kept a tight leesh on you, and it will be even tighter when they find out that you have become strong enough to take down a member of the Akatsuki on your own."

"Don't worry about that, the meeting is a whole two weeks away, I have more than enough time to think of a plan. In any case, the time for my departure is nearing, I will probably leave soon after I kill Orochimaru."

"You seem a little over-confident, don't forget, Orochimaru is a sannin and a former Akatsuki member. It won't be that easy." Haku said with a warning undertone.

"I know that, but Orochimaru's arms were sealed insided the death god by the third Hokage. He has lost the ability to utilise most of his ninjutsu, also, I have you as my trump card don't I?"

"You make good points, but you should hurry up and learn the demonic ice mirrors, I don't want to have to kill any more people than neccessary. And...not that I didn't enjoy meeting you again and getting to know you better, but I would like to return to Zabuza-sama's side as soon as possible. I hope you understand, you're my best friend, but Zabuza-sama is my most precious person." Haku said with a sombre expression.

"I know, don't worry, I recently mastered water manipulation, I am now working on combining it with my wind affinity. I am closer now to breaking the yin/yang formulae to successfully combine the two elements. I should have it nailed down in about a week. There are countless shadow clones working on it as we speak. I promise to release you as soon as you teach me the demonic ice mirrors, you'll be able to return to Zabuza's side sooner than you think." Naruto replied with a pat on the back and a grateful smile.

"It's not that I don't enjoy spending time with you, nor is it that I don't want to protect you, but..."

"There's no need to explain, I understand. You're a great friend, Haku, and I'm greatful for everything that you have done for me." Naruto said, cutting the afeminate boy off mid-sentence.

"I...thank you." Haku whispered so softly that Naruto almost thought that he imagined it, almost.

"For what?" Naruto asked with a quirked eyebrow.

"For everything. For being my friend, for giving me a purpose even in death, and for taking away my pain and remorse." Haku said with a smile of his own.

"You're strange...in a cool kind of way though." Naruto said playfully.

"Heh, you're one to talk!" Haku retorted with a light punch to the blonde Uzumaki's shoulder.

"Touche..." Naruto replied, the two friends, one a monster and one a zombie sharing a peaceful and carefree laughter together, something that would seem very strange for a third party's point of view if there was one to witness it.

"So..."

"Yeah?" Naruto asked.

"I should probably go now, are you going to be alright?" Haku asked.

"Yeah I'll be fine thank you. But before you go, there's something I need you to do for me..." Naruto trailed off.

"And that would be?"

"I need you to take these two books that Sasori left for me and make copies of them. Two copies of each, and than bring both the originals and the copies to me in exactly three days." Naruto ordered authoratively.

"No problem, but...why the need to make copies?" Haku asked.

"I want to keep the originals so that I can give them back to their rightful owner when I ressurrect him. One pair of copies will be for Yakumo-chan, and the other will be for the Uzumaki clan archives and for me to look over whenever I please." Naruto explained as he handed the scroll within which the two books are sealed over to Haku.

"Two copies of each huh, that won't be a problem, I'll have it down in no time at...Naruto-kun! What's wrong?" Haku asked anxiously.

"There's whole lot of people coming this way fast, it must be the re-enforcements Chiyo-baasama was supposed to organize, hurry up and go! It won't look good if I am seen with you!" Naruto ordered hastily.

"Got it!" Haku replied with equal haste as he instantly teleported himself away through an ice mirror, the mirror turning into a puddle of water as soon as his body disappeared into it.

_'Every jutsu has a flaw, this jutsu's flaw is that it leaves evidence of it's use behind in the form of a water puddle. If it wasn't for the fact that Sasori sprayed a whole lot of water on the battle field during our fight, I would have found myself hard pressed to explain a random puddle in the middle of the desert. I'll have to find a way to make the mirrors evaporate instead of melting.' _Naruto thought analytically.

"Naruto-kun!" Lee, running ahead of everyone else shouted as he closed in on the blonde Uzumaki.

"Lee...?"

"Naruto-kun! Are you alright? Where's Sasori?" Lee asked in quick succession, kicking up a dust cloud as he came to a sudden stop in front of the blonde Uzumaki.

"I am alright Lee, and I will explain everything when everyone else arrives." Naruto answered simply.

"Oh...okay, that actually makes sense. This way you can avoid repeating yourself. Yosh! Good strategical thinking Naruto-kun! I should write this down on my notebook!" Lee exclaimed enthusiastically, quickly pulling out a small notebook and a pencil seemingly out of nowhere and scribbling quickly inside said book.

_'I wonder if Chiyo-baasama had a chance to say anything incriminating about me before she died. Did she mention the Kazekage? I hope she didn't, because I'm definitely not going to hand such a powerful weapon to a potential enemy.' _Naruto thought.

_'Naruto-kun is not the same Naruto-kun from three years ago. This Naruto-kun is not as youthful as the old one, he's almost like Neji now. Naruto-kun, what could have happened in that training trip to dampen your flames of youth to this extent?' _Lee thought with a concerned expression.

"Is something the matter, Lee?" Naruto asked, staring inquisitively at the bowl haired teenager from the corner of his right eye.

"N...no, its nothing." Lee answered as he quickly looked away from the blonde jinchuuriki, seemingly finding the dirt on the ground to be very interesting all of a sudden.

_'Those eyes...since when did Naruto-kun have such a malicious gaze? Something strange is definitely going on with him. Maybe I should talk to Gai-sensei about this, he might know something about what's hapening to Naruto-kun.' _Lee thought.

_'If even Lee is starting to catch on, than my time in Konoha is a lot shorter than I thought. Hn, I guess I shouldn't be surprised, people may be ignorant when it comes to matters concerning me, but they certainly aren't retarded, this was bound to happen eventually.' _Naruto thought with an audible sigh.

"Everything okay, Naruto-kun?" Lee asked curiously.

"The others have arrived, I will explain everything soon." Naruto said.

Lee turned around to face the direction that he came from and, indeed, close to one hundred Suna shinobi, along with team Gai, Sakura, Kakashi, Temari, Kankuro, and the ressurrected Kazekage Gaara himself were arriving on the scene, with the revived Gaara leading the entourage, the former ichibi jinchuuriki stopping right in front of the blonde jinchuuriki, the two seperated by only a sole metre.

"Where is Sasori?" Gaara asked with his usual emotion deficient tone.

"In here." Naruto replied simply, handing over a storage scroll to the Godaime Kazekage with the kanji for 'puppet' inscribed on it.

"Puppet?" Gaara asked with a confused frown.

The Godaime Kazekage wouldn't go anywhere near as far as declaring himself to be a seal master, but he was sure that he had more than enough knowledge on the sealing arts to know that this was without a doubt not the kind of sealing jutsu one would use to store a human body. In fact, it was quite easy for him to tell that this was a normal storage scroll used to seal inanimate objects, for Naruto to claim that Sasori was inside that scroll was, if you asked him, completely obsurd.

"Sasori turned himself into a humanoid puppet, in other words, he replaced almost his entire human body with puppet body parts. To my understanding, this was done in order to take away most, if not all human limitations, the very essence of mortality included." Naruto explained.

_'So it's true what Temari and Tsunadee said, he's very different, more serious and much more politically and professionally mature...but what about his emotional maturity?' _Gaara pondered briefly.

"Explain something to me, if, as you seem to have implied, Sasori was trying to attain immunity and immortality through this...procedure, how did you kill him than?" Gaara asked skeptically.

"He couldn't completely turn himself into a puppet of course, after all, puppets cannot generate their own life-force and chakra. There was a small piece of living flesh near the area where one's heart would be. I was able to kill him by stabbing through that small part of his body." Naruto explained with an indifferent tone.

"So than, if I were to unseal this scroll, would I be able to see this so called living flesh?" Gaara asked.

"No." Naruto replied simply.

"Explain yourself." Gaara ordered almost immediately.

"I destroyed that part completely, you have to understand, Sasori gave me an extremely hard time. I couldn't take any chances, I had to make sure. However, if you do unseal the puppet, you will find the hole where the flesh was and some of his blood splattered around the area. You can conduct a dna test from that blood sample if you want confirmation." Naruto responded.

"I see." Gaara said with equal indifference.

"..."

"..."

"..."

"The bounty on Sasori's head, according to the bingo book is one hundred an twenty five million. I would like it to be transfered to this account." Naruto said as he handed a small piece of paper to the Kazekage, much to everyone's, by everyone meaning everyone who knew him well's shock.

"Naruto! Is that all you can think about after everything that happened! Everyone left everything and ran as fast as they could to get here so that we can help you! Everyone was about to risk their lives just for you and all you can think about is money? What the hell is wrong with you!" Sakura shouted with more than a little fury.

"I'm merely following standard regulation and procedure. To answer your question directly, no, I'm not only thinking about money, there are other things occupying my mind as well, the ones you mentioned included." the Blonde Uzuamaki said without a shred of emotion.

"How can I take anything you say seriously when you sound so cold! Right now, you're acting just like Sasu..k...e!"

"..."

"..."

"..."

It was almost like a bomb had just been dropped right in the middle of everyone, such was the silence that took over the Konoha and Suna shinobi. Even the people who did not know of this Sasuke were completely silenced, intinctually able to discern the taboo territory that the conversation had taken and not willing to be caught in the middle of it.

_'Hn, you're so misguided, Sakura-san. Sasuke is self-centred and self-serving, he doesn't care about anyone else but himself and his own ambitions. Even though their goals are of similar origins and nature, the path they have taken is vastly different. Naruto, unlike Sasuke, is able to sympathise with those of similar backgrounds and is willing to even delay his own plans to help them. Also, his dream is not just about avenging his clan and building a new one, his plan is to ultimately create a place where even the outcasts and rejects of the world can find a place to call home, a place where they are also accepted and loved.' _Neji thought.

"You are entitled to your opinions, Sakura, but I am no longer going to scream and beg for yours or anyone's acceptance. I know who and what I am and I am secure about who I am. I don't need your approval." Naruto said with finality.

Sakura, for the second time now since Naruto returned, was shocked into absolute silence and left with a gaping mouth, a confused mind, and a broken heart. She wanted to get angry and lash out at the blonde Uzumaki, she wanted to beat the old Naruto back into him, because honestly, she didn't like this Naruto at all. She was not used to Naruto standing up to her like that and she was definitely not used to getting the cold shoulder from him. It hurt when Sasuke did it, but it only strengthened her resolve to break through that barrier and win his heart over. With Naruto though, it honestly scared the shinobi out of her, especially after what happened the last time she had clashed with him. It also didn't help that he was just so unpredictable, honestly, for all she knew, Naruto might as well have been a complete stranger to her now. She'd always thought that she knew him well, that she could always rely on him no matter what, but right now, she really didn't know if he even cared about her, did he even consider her as a teammate anymore, did he even consider her as a friend? 

She'd always imagined that her life would be much better if Naruto would just stop pestering her and leave her alone, that she would be much happier if he stopped asking her out on dates and hopelessly persuing her affections. She just never thought that she would feel so hollow when it happened, nor did she imagine it would hurt this much.. Actually, come to think of it, she never thought it would ever happen at all, sure, Tsunade-shishio had told her all about how Naruto said that he was over her and loved someone else, but she hadn't believed it at the time. She'd just thought that maybe Naruto was just venting out his frustrations at her for not returning his feelings, or maybe just trying to play some sick reverse psychology manuevre to get her to like him. She even considered that he might be trying to act like Sasuke to get her to like him, but now, she didn't think it could be any more obvious that he doesn't have any feelings for her at all.

Naruto, seeing that Saskura had nothing to say in response decided to quickly divert the attention to something more important in the grand scheme of things.

"In any case, Sakura, what happened to Kakashi? Why is he riding on Gai-sensei's back?" Naruto asked curiously, although, given how depleted his chakra was, Naruto already had his suspisions about what could have happened.

"H...he overused his sharingan again, like he did when he was fighting with you. We would all be dead now if it wasn't for him." Sakura explained, trying valiantly to hide her emotions and maintain a professional tone. She didn't want that jerk to realise just how much of an effect his behaviour had on her lest he misinterprete it.

_'So Deidara was able to force him to use kamui, this is also the same guy that defeated and captured Gaara. He must be insanely strong than.' _Naruto thought.

"And what became of him, is he dead?" Naruto asked.

"Yes, he used a suicided technique when he realised that he was cornered with no where to go. He wouldn't have been able to outrun Gai-san and his team and he still had I and Kakashi sensei to deal with. Chiyo-baasama also arrived at the time and he was already low on chakra and clay. He also lost and arm to Gaara and the other one to Kakashi-sensei's jutsu. Without both of his arms, he must have realised that victory or escape is impossible and decided to blow himself up and take us all with him to the afterlife. Kakashi-sensei used the remainder of his chakra to save us and lost consciousness as a result." Sakura explained.

_'Blew himself up? That sounds a little suspicious, I'll have to keep an open mind about this one until I can truly confirm his death.' _Naruto thought wearily.

"I see. What about Chiyo-baasama? Did she say anything before she departed?" Naruto asked.

"What exactly do you mean by departed?" Sakura asked suspiciously.

"I mean before she died, did she say anything important?" Naruto asked.

"How do you know that she died? I don't remember anyone mentioning such a thing?" Sakura demanded.

"She's got a point? How would you have known such a thing? She left you behind to call re-enforcements and you all of a sudden just assumed that she mysteriously died?" Kankuro asked with equal suspision.

"Gaara...?"

"I'm afraid I have to agree with them too, you need to explain yourself, Naruto." Gaara said coldly.

_'Sakura's suspission is understandable, I already suspected that Tsunade would have warned her and Kakashi about me and given them instructions to watch my movements carefully. But the sand siblings? Even Gaara of all people? He didn't even greet me after seeing me for the first time in three years?_ Naruto thought with a little confusion.

_'I can only think of a few possible explanations. Temari was also there when I fought Kakashi, and she also witnessed my first clash with Sakura when I threatened to kill her. She therefore already knew alot by virtue of her presence alone. Either she warned her brothers of her own accord or was ordered by Tsunade to ask them to watch me, maybe even use my bond with Gaara to get information out of me. It's also possible that Sakura and Kakashi were ordered to pass on the request to Gaara and his siblings, or a messanger bird was maybe sent ahead already before we even left Konoha. Actually, that sounds more probable, a messenger bird was sent before Gaara got captured, probably a few days after my battle with Kakashi. Damn that Tsunade, I can't believe that she thought this far ahead, she's smarter than she lets on isn't she. I'll have to excercise even more caution with her, actually, I should really stop underestimating her.' _Naruto thought anxiously.

"We're waiting, Naruto." Gaara said indifferently, the cork on his gourd popping off with his sand flying out and around his head menacingly, everyone else, the Konoha contingent included, taking this as a sign to get into their own battle stances.

"No offense, Kazekage-sama, but don't you think that you're all acting a little silly right now? I mean, Chiyo-baasama would not have left Naruto to deal with Sasori on his own for any duration of time without just cause, and neither would she have left without even so much as an explanation. No matter what kind of person she was, I doubt she would have left a teenager to deal with Sasori and not even had the decency to let him know why she was leaving." Neji said in a calm and logical manner, keeping his eyes closed and looking away in order to hide any trace of emotion that might show in his eyes or facial expression.

"What Neji speaks of is the truth. Chiyo explained that the technique she was planning to use to ressurect you would require that she first heal the injuries on your corpse, and than transfer her own life-force to your body, Gaara. She also explained that the new life-force in your body would act as a beacon that would draw your departed soul back to your body. When that happens, she would die and you would be revived." Naruto explained, taking a short pause to calm his nerves before continuing where he left off.

"What you probably didn't know about this jutsu, is that it wasn't originally meant for you." Naruto said much to the surprise of everyone that was present.

"What do you mean by that exactly?" Temari demanded with narrowed eyes.

"Chiyo-baasama conceived that jutsu out of love for her only grandson, it was intended to be used on Sasori should the neccessity ever arise. She changed her mind when she realised what had become of her beloved grandson. She entrusted me with the duty to stop her grandson from his path in the darkness and left so that she can make up for her sins against your brother. I'm just glad I was able to help, at least this way, she and her beloved grandson will be reunited in the afterlife. In the afterlife, Sasori won't have to carry the burden of his duties and loyalties to the Akatsuki, and Chiyo-baasama won't have to carry the burden of her passed mistakes, there won't be anything holding them back from being grandson and grandmother again. They will find peace and happiness in the afterlife, I think that is what Chiyo-baasama wanted, or would have wanted." Naruto said with a neutral expression.

_'Sasori is a member of the Akatsuki, an organisation hell bent on capturing the likes of people like him, in fact, Sasori was probably trying his best to capture and eventually kill him. But, Naruto still has the time to sympathize with him and even wish for his happiness. He may act differently, but he seems like the same Naruto at heart, maybe the Hokage was over-exaggerating the situation a little too much." _Kankuro thought.

"Are you telling me that Chiyo-baasama wanted to die?" Gaara asked skeptically.

"I'm saying that Chiyo wanted, more than anything, to be able to hold her grandson in her arms once again, be it in this world or the next. I'm also saying that she wanted to entrust the fate of Suna in your hands, Gaara, but probably even more than that, she wanted your forgiveness for sealing the Ichibi into you and than abandoning you afterwards. She wanted to give you a chance to have the life that you could have enjoyed had you not been burdened with Shukaku's curse." Naruto said with a serious expression, making direct eye contact with the Yondaime Kazekage as the two teenagers found themselves getting locked in a staring contest.

"I think I understand now. You're definitely not the same Naruto that became my first friend in this world, but that Naruto still lives within you. That's good enough for me. It's nice to finally meet you after all these years, my friend." Gaara said with an extended right hand and a small, almost invisible smile.

"Hn, I was wondering when you were planning to give me a proper greeting." Naruto replied with a small smile of his own as he shook the young kazekage's hand.

"I'm sorry for that, but I heard that you had become a different person since you left for your training trip, I had to confirm this on my own and make my own judgements." Gaara said simply.

"So than, this handshake, is an oath of trust and loyalty, from one friend to another?" Naruto asked.

"Yes, yes it is." Gaara replied.

"Very well, hopefully, the next time we shake hands like this, it won't be from one friend to another only, hopefully, it will be from one Kage to another." Naruto said with a fox like smile.

_'So he still has the same dream? I guess I really had nothing to worry about after all.' _Gaara thought, along with some of the Konoha contingent, not knowing just how wrong they all were.

"From one Kage to another it will be than." Gaara replied.

"I'm going to hold you to that promise, remember that the next time you and I meet." Naruto warned with a serious tone.

"And I intend to honor my promise, or do you question my intergrity, Uzumaki Naruto?" Gaara asked with a small, playful smile.

"Hehe! I wouldn't dream of it, you're one of the few people that I consider as my true friends, I have no problem placing my trust in you." Naruto said with a mischievious glint in his eyes,

"Good. Now listen carefully, Elder Ebisu, Chiyo-baasama's brother, has taken her body back to the village. As soon as he arrives, preparations for the funeral will be arranged so that the ceremony is conducted tommorrow morning. In other words, you and your comrades may only leave tommorrow after the funeral, it will be your last chance to say your farewells to Chiyo-baasama." Gaara said casually, even though it sounded more like an order more than anything else.

"I have no problem with that, Sakura, Gai-sensei? What about you?" Naruto asked.

"It would be most unyouthful for us not to pay our respects to a great hero like Chiyo-baasama. I will stay and leave tommorrow morning after the service, and so will my team." Gai responded with a subdued tone.

"We will leave tommorrow after the service." Sakura said coldly.

"There, you heard it." Naruto said.

"It is time for us to leave..."

"Wait!" Sakura cut in abruptly.

"What is it?" Gaara demanded.

"Chiyo mentioned something important before she passed away."

"Carry on." Gaara ordered stoicly.

"She said that Sasori was using a human puppet of the sandaime kazekage, a puppet that enables Sasori to use all of the sandaime kazekage's powers..."

"Is this true, Naruto...!" Gaara snapped with renewed intensity and suspision.

_'Damn it! I guess it was too much to hope that Chiyo wouldn't say anything.' _

"Yes, it is true." Naruto replied with a stern expression.

"Why didn't you say anything about this?" Gaara asked suspiciously.

_'There we go again.' _Naruto thought with a mental roll of the eyes.

"Yes Naruto, why didn't you say anything about this? I'm curious, we're all curious?" Sakura asked with suspission equivalent to the Kazekage's, if not more so.

"I didn't want to drop a bomb on everyone right now, considering everything that has happened. I also felt that this was the kind of information that you would want to release on a need to know basis, that's why I was planning to only tell you about it in the privacy of your office back in Suna." Naruto explained calmly and logically.

"He's right, this is not something that should have been spoken about so carelessly. The disappearance of the sandaime was a big blow to Suna and was also something that we haven't quite recovered from yet. This is information that should be handled carefully." Temari said in agreement, much to the embarrassment of one Haruna Sakura, who found herself having to fight very hard to hide her blushes of embarrasment.

"Listen up, everyone!" Gaara shouted, well, not really shouted, everyone knows that the Kazekage doesn't breach the barriers of 'shouting' at any point no matter the circumstances, but still, it was louder than everyone was used to and could therefore be considered shouting, which is why all the whispers were so quick to die down.

"Everything you have heard and will hear today about Sandaime-sama is an S-rank secret that will not be discussed with anyone who does not already know of it under the penalty of death. Remember, failure to comply will result in the termination of your existence, understood?"

"Hai, Kazekage-sama!" Every Suna shinobi saluted.

"Good! Now Naruto, where is the Kazekage now?" Gaara asked anxiously.

"You'll have to forgive me again, but like I said earlier, Sasori gave me a very hard time, I couldn't afford to take any chances." Naruto said with a sad face as he looked away from the Kazekage to avoid direct eye contact.

"You destroyed the body?" Gaara asked with a heavy sigh.

"I did what I felt was neccessary at the time." Naruto replied.

"I see. Well, don't trouble yourself so much, this doesn't change anything. I probably would have done the same if I was in your shoes, you have nothing to be ashamed of. Now come, let us go home." Gaara said with a pat on the blonde Uzumaki's back.

"Okay, lets got." Naruto said with a small smile.

_'Well, that was easier than I thought.'_

**Two Weeks Later...**

"Have you come to free me from this imprisonment yet, Naruto-kun?" Kurama Yakumo asked as she wiped the last of her dishes clean, not bothering to turn around to face the intruder in her home, or rather, feeling so comfortable with the intruder's presence that she didn't feel the need to.

She is an exotic beauty with long brown hair that has two bangs framing her face, smooth, pale skin and dark expressive brown eyes. Wearing a simple white kimomo with a red sash and normal, brown sandals.

"Is it safe to talk?" Naruto asked.

"Those idiots assigned to guard me are under the influence of my genjutsu at all times, you already know that." Yakumo said with her usual ice-queen like stoicness.

"Vigilance is the key to success, especially for people like us. It doesn't hurt to excesise caution." Naruto replied as he took a seat on the other end of the kitchen table.

"True. That's part of the reason why you make such a good leader, Naruto-kun." Yakumo said as she turned around to face the blonde, seating herself on the other side of the kitchen table and folding her hands together, also adopting her business mode.

"I appreciate the compliment, especially when it is coming from someone like you."

"What is that supposed to mean exactly?" Yakumo asked with a frown on her face.

"You give away very few of those, so I have to treasure each and every one that I get. You're not someone that is very easily impressed, although, I guess it's a good thing that you have high standards." Naruto replied carefully.

"Hmmm...cheesy, but good enough for now. Anyway, not that I don't enjoy your company, but why are you here?" Yakumo asked curiously.

"This is the first time that you have asked me that question since the first time I came to visit you, why ask me now?" Naruto retorted.

"Because you've followed a strict visiting schedule ever since than, this is the first time that you have broken that schedule." Yakumo countered smoothly.

"I see, well in that case, I'll go straight to the point. The boss is leaving on a mission today to meet up with Sasori's spy, Yakushi Kabuto. As you already know, Kabuto has become Orochimaru's right hand man, The boss will go to meet up with Kabuto at the Tenchi Bridge. However, Kakashi has suffered from severe injuries in the clash with Akatsuki's Deidara. His chakra coils are dangerously strained and bruised, it will take another week or two for him to completely recover." Naruto explained, pausing slightly to catch his breathe before continuing where he left off.

"Go on..." Yakumo said calmly.

"A new captain has been assigned for team Kakashi, a man who goes only by the name, Yamato. However, considering that he is a currently registered member of the A.N.B.U, that name is most likely just a codename for the mission. Also, Danzo has made his move already..."

"Danzo! What has he done?" Yakumo asked with a worried expression. She knew that man very well, that was the same man that had tried to turn her into his personal weapon a few years ago. If it wasn't for the third hokage, she might very well have become that weapon.

Of course, Yakumo knew that the third didn't do that out of love or care for her, she wasn't anywhere near that naive. He just didn't want Danzo to have more power than he already did, lest he overthrow him and take the Hokage title. As far as Yakumo was concerned, Danzo and the third were two sides of the same coin. She was worried though, if Danzo was taking a sudden interest in her Naruto-kun, than she would have to end her passive aggression and take an active role in Akakitsune's proceedings sooner than she thought.

"As you already know, Team 7 has been incomplete since Sasuke defected. A new member has been assigned to team 7, a guy of round about the same age group as us, who also happens to be a member of Danzo's R.O.O.T organisation. It is possible that Tsunade and Danzo have called a truce and are now collaborating to deal with the boss." Naruto explained.

"You seem a little too calm about this, this is getting bigger and bigger Naruto-kun, we need to do something, we need to leave soon." Yakumo said with a worried expression.

"I know, that's part of the reason that the boss broke schedule and sent me here to give you an update. You've had almost two weeks with Sasori's journal and puppet arts guidebook. It took Sasori years to get to that level, but that is only because he had to rely on years of research and experimentation to get to where he is, basically, there was alot of trial and error before he achieved that level. You, on the otherhand have the already completed and ready to use guide in your hands, and the boss has taught you the shadow clone technique and the jutsu's secret. Progress should, theoretically, be exponentially faster. It aso helps that you're one of the greatest geniuses since the discovery of ninjutsu." Naruto said with a questioning gaze.

"Heh, so demanding, demanding the absolute best from your subbordinates yet always quick to give due praise and encouragement. A great leader indeed." Yakumo said with a playful but sincere smile.

"Hn, cheesy...but I suppose that's good enough for now." Naruto said with the same words and tone that Yakumo had used on him earlier, causing the exotic beauty to giggle at the blonde Uzumaki's attempt to mimick her.

"Alright alright, I get it, jeez, you're so full of it. Anyway, you're right, it does seem much easier given the circumstances. I have already mastered the Kazekage's powers, Sasori's guide is very concise and descriptive. However, it is a little difficult to master Sasori himself. His body was not meant to be controlled from a distance, it was meant to be controlled well, from inside I guess. I've had two shadow clones working on the modifications, they've busy on that as we speak." Yakumo explained.

"Just two clones?" Naruto asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I have to preserve my chakra so that I can maintain and modify the genjutsu on the premises and my watchers at all times. Also, you have to remember that not everyone has near unlimited chakra reserves like you." Yakumo said with a roll of the eyes.

"Oh...! Yeah I guess you have a point, haha, sorry, I wasn't thinking when I said that..."

"When do you ever think?" Yakumo asked with a soft giggle.

"Sh-shut up! Tche...women, no appreciation whatsoever for a man's talents and efforts." Naruto whined with a, in Yakumo's opinion, cute pout.

"I'm just playing with you, damn why do you have to be so stiff, you need to go out a little more Naruto-kun, it might help losen you up." Yakumo said with another angelic giggle. Naruto found it quite ironic that she of all people would lecture him about going out, but chose not to say anything on the matter in order to preserve the friendly and happy atmosphere, doing his best at the same time to supress the pang of guilt in his heart.

"Hehehe! Well, I guess you're right, maybe I should consider your advice Yakumo-chan." Naruto replied with a wide, close-eyed smile.

"Than it's a promise, when we get out of this place, you're going to take me on a date and show me all the nice things in the world, deal?" Yakumo said happily, holding out her right hand for a pinky promise.

_'Yakumo-chan...you...' _Naruto trailled off with a pang of hurt in his heart.

_'The boss already has a girlfriend. But I can't turn her down, I...I care about her too much...I...boss will have to forgive me, but Yakumo-chan is going to get her dream date no matter what, I couldn't possibly deny her.'_

"Hehe! Of course, I'll show you the whole world, Yakumo-hime." Naruto replied as he linked his own pinky finger with the Kurama clan heiress, a happy and loving smile plastered on his facial expression, causing Yakumo to blush with embarrassmnet.

_'Yakumo-chan, I love you, and I will try my best to cure your loneliness and give you happiness.' _Naruto vowed internally.

"Um...Naruto-kun, y-you can let go now." Yakumo stutted.

"Huh...? Oh!" Naruto exclaimed, pulling his hand away instantly as if it was burnt by fire.

"Um...so, was there anything else you wanted to say?" Yakumo asked nervously.

_'Why am I feeling like this? Is it because I like..love Naruto-kun?' _Yakumo pondered with confusion.

"Ahem! Um...as a matter of fact, there was something else. Here, this is for you." Naruto said, pulling out a small scroll from his weapons pouch and handing it over to the Kurama heiress.

"What is it?" Yakumo asked as she took the scroll into her hands.

"The human puppet is preserved in such a way that the body can still reproduce its own chakra. Because of this, the boss came up with an idea for you to use the human puppet technique and infact even normal puppets with a more convenient method. Also, the boss figured that you could collaborate your kugutsu with your super genjutsu. Inside that scroll are intructions to two sealing jutsu of the bosses own creation and a few other ideas that you could use. The boss is planning for us to leave the village in two to three month's time, you have that much time to complete your secret jutsu and master your battle simulations." Naruto explained carefully.

"I...see. T-thank you." A stunned Yakumo said with a voice full of emotion.

_'He cares, he really cares about me, and...he trusts me, he trusts me wholeheartedly, why else would he have gone so far to help me? Naruto-kun really loves me doesn't he, I...I'm so happy, Naruto-kun, I'm so happy!' _Yakumo thought with overwhelming emotions, trying valiantly but failing miserably to hold back her tears.

"Yakumo-chan! What's wrong?" Naruto asked anxiously.

"It's nothing, I'm just...I'm just happy." Yakumo said with a tearfuly smile.

"Oh...well, okay." Naruto stuttered with an invisible question mark hovering above his head.

"I'm going to get started on this immediately, so you're going to have to go now. Goodluck with your mission, and don't you dare die, or else I'll go to the afterlife and kill you again, got it?" Yakumo threatened with a swift shift of moods.

"Aaah...yeah, I'll do my best, I mean, the boss will do his best!" Naruto replied nervously.

"Good, goodbye." Yakumo said simply.

Naruto, taking the hint, decided to hightail out of there as soon as possible, dispelling himself with a puff of smoke but with one thought on his mind just before he disappeared...

_'Wait a minute! If I'm in love with Yakumo-chan? Than that means the boss...!'_

**A Few Hours Later...**

"What do you want?" Naruto asked with a neutral tone.

The blonde Uzumaki was seated on his bed with his legs crossed together and eyes closed in a meditating position when he felt a presence enter his room un-anounced. Having already established the identity of the person even before he arrived at his apartment, the blonde jinchuuriki had chosen to say nothing and simply wait for the figure, who was hiding in plane site against the wall of his room with a ninjutsu cloaking technique, to reveal himself. However, after more than two hours, and with his mission departure becoming eminent, the blonde eventually decided to confront the intruder.

"..."

"I know you're here, Jiraiya, or do you want me to force you to reveal yourself?" Naruto asked calmly.

"How did you know I was here?" Jiraiya asked with an annoyed and somewhat suspicious frown , now having cancelled his cloaking jutsu to reveal that it was in fact he who was intruding the blonde Uzumaki's space.

"You frequently get caught spying on women in the bathhouses, if they can catch you, what made you think that I wouldn't?" Naruto asked retorically.

"I don't usually use ninjutsu at the bathhouses." Jiraiya stated matter of factly.

"Honestly, I don't care what kind of techniques you use at the bathhouses." Naruto replied simply.

"You're avoiding my question..."

"And you're avoiding mine, what do you want, Jiraiya?" Naruto asked, still in his meditating position with his eyes still closed.

_'So he's at the level where I can't even sneak up on him now? I suppose I shouldn't be surprised, he was able to defeat Kakashi four weeks ago, and he has now defeated Sasori, an S-ranked criminal. He's at another level altogether now.' _Jiraiya thought with resignation, although still unable to get over the fact that he didn't have a clue as to how Naruto detected his presence or how he became so strong, secret summoning technique or not.

"Why did Sasori give you the details about what is probably his main spy, you, a jinchuuriki that he was trying to capture?" Jiraiya asked with narrowed eyes.

"I already gave a detailed report to Hokage-sama, I'm not obliged to answer to you." Naruto replied simply.

"You're a genin, and I'm an elite jonin, I have authority over you!" Jiraiya replied hotly.

"I checked the shinobi registration records, your name is not registered in any of the records. You're a retired ninja, you don't have any authority over anyone here." Naruto retorted simply, causing Jiraiya to grit his teeth in anger and frustration.

"You ungreatful brat! After everything that I've done for you, this is the thanks that I get!" Jiraiya shouted furiously, trying and failing miserably to keep hold of his composure. This is when Naruto opened his eyes and made direct eye contact with the toad sannin.

"Ungrateful? For everything that you have done for me? Tell me, Jiraiya, what exactly is it that you have done for me?" Naruto asked with a very genuinely curious expression.

"I...I...I taught you how to use the Kyubi's chakra, I taught you how to summon toads and I even taught you my prized technique, the rasengan. I took you in as a student when no one was willing to even give you a chance! I've done everything in my power to help you!" Jiraiya exclaimed furiously, barely holding himself back from punching the hell out of that irritatingly passive expression on the blonde Uzumaki's face.

"Firstly, let me correct you on one thing, the rasengan is not, and will never be your so called prized technique, that technique was created by the Fourth Hokage, and it is a technique he owes to me for using me as the container of the kyubi. It's like you said, the Fourth Hokage left that jutsu behind for me." Naruto said with a calm exterior.

Of course, what the blonde Uzumaki really wanted to say was that the technique belonged to his family, the Uzumaki clan, because it was invented by his father, who was married into the clan. But he didn't want to give away too much about what he knew, even the smallest bit of information could be used against you in the shinobi world. The more he kept to himself, the better of he would be.

"As for the toad summoning technique, as you very well know, I am no longer aligned to the toads anymore. And as for the Kyubi's power, I no longer rely on that power anymore. And besides, all you did at the time was to speed up what would have happened anyway, I would have met the Kyubi again in my fight with Gaara regardless of your interference. And finally, taking me on as a student and doing all you could to help me? What nonsense is that, are we talking about the same person who neglected my training so that he can perve on young ladies?" Naruto asked retorically.

"Naruto..." Jiraiya trailled off with a deadly glare.

"What?" Naruto asked with his own matching glare.

"Don't ever talk about the Fourth again, you don't know anything about him. Trash like you have no place speaking about that man like that, if you badmouth him again in front of me...I'll kill you!" Jiraiya said with the utmost seriousness.

_'Hn, you still think you can kill me at anytime of your choosing huh? Well, that will just give me the advantage when the time comes for me to take care of you, it's fine by me if you think like that.' _Naruto thought maliciously.

"I had no intention of talking about him to you again, in fact, this conversation is over, please leave before I have you arrested for tresspassing." Naruto said with that uncaring expression still plastered on his face.

"We're not done talking, and if you think that those A.N.B.U guards watching over you will help you, than you're sorely mistaken." Jiraiya said with a threatening undertone.

_'Fighting him now, in a place like this, and so soon will ruin my plans, I guess I have no choice but to tolerate him for now.' _Naruto thought with resignation.

"Fine, say what you want to say and leave afterwards, it makes no difference to me." Naruto replied.

"Wise decision. Don't forget who it is that you're speaking to, you may have surprised Kakashi and Sasori, but don't make the mistake of thinking that you can do the same to me, you're a thousand years away from my level." Jiraiya said with what should and would have been an intimidating tone to most shinobi in the world, but of course, Naruto was nothing like most shinobi in the world.

"You don't have to try so hard to make your point, just hurry up and say what you want and than get out of my site." Naruto replied.

"You've changed so much, right now, I can't even tell the difference between you and that Uchiha brat of Orochimaru's." Jiraiya said with disgust.

"..." Naruto chose to say nothing at that point in time, having realised that Jiraiya would never get out of his site if he kept on responding and as such, inevitably antagonising him. The blonde Uzumaki simply choosing to keep his silence and let the toad sannin speak his mind.

"You're right, the Yondaime owns the rasengan and he intended for you to learn it, but, if he saw you now, I'm sure that he would have changed his mind!" Jiraiya said matter of factly.

",,,,,"

"As for the toads, yes, you are no longer aligned to them, and I won't bother asking you about your new summons, I know now that I won't get an answer. But remember, it was Bunta who helped you to defeat Gaara, if it wasn't for that toad summoning technique, you'd be dead!"

"If I hadn't defeated Gaara, you'd have no home to return to, Gaara would have destroyed the village. As far as I'm concerned, I have paid my dues to you, I did your job for you and saved the village. Stopping Gaara was supposed to be your job, no fresh genin should have had to deal with something like that. Also, Sakura would have died if it wasn't for me, I saved your girlfriend's prized student for you. You and the third failed to protect the village, and I, a genin had to do it for you. Think about that before you try to guilt trip me about the summoning technique again." Naruto retorted impassively, once again, causing the toad sage's blood to boil in anger.

"Fine! I won't argue with you about that anymore, in fact, I won't argue with you about anything concerning ninjutsu anymore, clearly your mind has been made-up already and you're not willing to change your views. But you should know, I wasn't simply spying on women all that time during our travels, I was meeting with some of my contacts to gather information about Akatsuki and keep them off of our trail." Jiraiya explained.

"Your pathetic attempts to justify yourself were amusing at first, but now you're just annoying. You could have easily spared a shadow clone to watch over my training while you were gone. The fact that you didn't just verifies the fact that you had no real interest in my development. I would say that it is sad that I couldn't rely on my own kind to help me in my greates time of need, that I had to rely on an animal species and my own self to get to where I am now, but I don't really care about that anymore. In fact, I'm actually glad that I ended up doing things on my own, it helped me alot in my journey to discover myself. If that was all you came here to say, than please excuse yourself from my apartment." Naruto replied irritably.

"Naruto, did you really turn out like this because of me?" Jiraiya asked.

"Heh, what a terrible character trait, do you really have to be so quick to take credit for everything? Don't overate yourself so much Jiraiya, you're not important enough to me to have that kind of impact." Naruto retorted coldly.

"I...I see, you don't have to say anymore, I understand now." Jiraiya said with a hurt and sad expression.

"But answer this one question for me before I go, do you still dream of one day becoming the Hokage?" Jiraiya asked anxiously.

_'There is already a lot of reason for concern regarding him, but if even this has changed, than we absolutely can't afford to trust him anymore.' _Jiraiya thought.

"Heh, it's strange that you should ask me that, but than again, it's not something unexpected coming from you..." Naruto trailled off.

_'Now, how do I respond to this exactly? Oh...I've got it!' _Naruto thought mischieviously.

"You know, I was telling Gaara the other day, after my battle with Sasori, that the next time we shook hands, it would be a handshake between two Kage, an oath of friendship, from one kage to another..." Naruto trailed off once again.

"So you see, Jiraiya, I have no intention of abandoning my dream, I will fullfill it, no matter what the cost!" Naruto said with sincere conviction.

Just as expected, Jiraiya misinterpreted the blonde jinchuuriki's words to mean that the blonde still wanted to become the Hokage, when in fact, what the blonde was really talking about was his dream to become the Uzukage. Naruto, knowing exactly how his words would have sounded on Jiraiya's ears, couldn't help but to give himself a mental pat on the back, very pleased indeed with his skills in the art of deception.

_'So, he still wants to become the Hokage, and he has no intention of giving up. If that is the case, than, as his sensei, I have no right to complain anymore, even if he has disowned me.' _Jiraiya thought with a small smile.

"What are you smiling about, I don't remember saying anything funny?" Naruto asked with feigned irritation.

_'Still sensitive when it comes to his dream huh, hehe, some things never change afterall.' _Jiraiya thought happily.

"Nothing, Nothing at all Naruto. Just be careful in your mission, sometimes, spies can lose themselves in their mission and convert to the other side. If that is the case, this could be a trap set up by Orochimaru with Kabuto collaborating with him..."

"I already know that, I'm prepared for such scenario." Naruto said matter of factly.

_'He's grown up so fast that it's almost sad, I kind of whish he was still the same Naruto. But perhaps that is how everyone feels, perhaps, that is why everyone is so sad and concerned, as selfish as it may sound.' _ Jiraiya thought.

"And Orochimaru, you're prepared for him?" Jiraiya asked curiously.

"Orochimaru may be powerful, but the third was able to seal his hands away, he has a clear weakness that can be exploited. I'll deal with him and any surprise that he might conjure up, I've made provision for all possibiities.." Naruto said simply,

"You seem a little too confident, this is Orochimaru we're talking about, a sannin that could give me a run for my money."

"And you seem a little too hesitant to leave my apartment." Naruto retorted.

"Fine, I'll leave, goodluck Naruto." Jiraiya said as he leapt out of the window.

"Taking care of Orochimaru was supposed to be your job, once again, I, a genin, am stuck doing your job for you." Naruto said to the empty apartment.

**Chapter End.**

**Yeah I know, not much action in this one, sorry for that. The next one will be more balanced though, in other words, it will have almost everything, character development, story development, fight scenes, etc.**

**Next Chapter Title: **Orochimaru's power.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto or any other series that I might use for inspiration.

**Chapter 4**

_**Redemption For My Mother**_

**Konohagakure no Sato: Main Gate...**

"You again? Wait, you're the new member of team 7, elder Danzo's student, aren't you?" Naruto asked with a calm demeanor, leaning against the walls of the Konoha gate with his hands in his pockets and a stare at the unwelcome companion from the corner of his eye.

"A very good, albeit obvious analysis, Dickless-san. I expected you to be a little more stupid than that. In fact, so far, you have acted quite out of character." The new member of team seven replied, a teenager of around the age of fifteen or sixteen with black hair, black eyes, and a pale, almost literally white skin colour, wearing a black shinobi outfit with a top so short that it left his belly button exposed.

_'Just as I thought, Danzo gave this guy intel on me, however outdated it may be. I knew that Danzo was keeping tabs on me, but to think that he would be so direct about it...' _Naruto thought wearily.

"My name is Uzumaki Naruto, not Dickless." The blonde jinchuuriki replied simply

"And mine is Sai, Dickless-san." The boy, now known as Sai, replied with what Naruto thought to be mock politeness.

"If you're not going to stop calling me by that degrading name, than at least have the decency to tell me why you have given it to me? Because I know for a fact that you have never seen my penis." Naruto retorted.

"Because no one with a working and sizeable dick would have ran away like you did yesterday. If you had a dick, you would have faced me like a man."Sai replied with an obviously fake smile.

"I see." Naruto said simply, deciding there and than not to bother with this idiot anymore.

Sure, he might have ran away from the guy the previous day, but that was not out of fear nor did Naruto consider it to be dishonourable. He just didn't fancy fighting someone who was obviously affiliated with the same ninja village and who just so happens to be obviously testing him, smack in the centre of the village of all places. Of course, he'd thought about luring the young R.O.O.T protege away into the forests, capture and interogate him, and than kill him if neccessary. But that was obviously not a good idea, he didn't want Danzo or Tsunade breathing down on his neck more than they already were. Besides, he was under constant serveilance, it would have been quite a difficult task to execute, not to mention very risky. That was why running away was the best option at the time, although he wouldn't really call it running away, more like a 'strategic retreat' more than anything else.

"..."

"..."

_'Danzo-sama's intel does not seem to apply to this Naruto. However, Danzo-sama has no reason to give me incorrect intel, neither would he collect in-accurate intel. The only explanation that I can think of is, that his intel is outdated. Perhaps that is why he sent me, to gather information so that we can get an update for the Kyubi's profile.' _Sai reasoned within his own thoughts.

"Anyway, what are you hoping to achieve in this mission?" Sai asked ubruptly.

"Excuse me?" Naruto asked with a raised eyebrow.

"What are you hoping to gain or achieve in this mission?" Sai droned out again.

"Our mission is to rendezvous with Sasori's spy, Yakushi Kabuto, capture him, and force Uchiha Sasuke's whereabouts out of his lips. The mission is however open ended depending on the circumstances of..."

"I already know all of that." Sai interupted.

"Than why did you ask?"

"I didn't ask what you were answering, I was asking why you specifically want to participate in this mission?" Sai asked again.

_'Idiot, you're not gonna get anything out of me that way.' _Naruto thought with a mental roll of the eyes.

"Well...?" Sai prompted again.

"It's just a mission Sai-san, my goal is to complete it to the best of my abilities. I thought someone like you would understand this." Naruto replied with a quirked eyebrow.

"What do you mean when you say, _someone like me?_" Sai asked.

"You're a member of the foundation are you not?" Naruto asked retorically.

"I'm sorry, but I have no idea what you are talking about. The R.O.O.T program was abolished over a decade ago." Sai responded with another fake smile.

"Oh yes, I forgot about that." Naruto said with condensing sarcasm, not believing that blatent lie for even a split seccond.

"..."

"..."

_'According to his profile, the kyubi is supposed to be a very talkative and rather nosy individual. However, this guy doesn't seem to entertain much conversation, neither does he seem interested in other people's business. He hasn't even asked anything about me, he's more disinterested than anything else.' _Sai thought analytically.

"So..."

"What?" Naruto asked neutrally.

"Why are you here so early? The meeting time is over an hour away." Sai asked in an effort to break the uncomfortable silence with some small talk. He'd read in a book that silence made people uncomfortable and that small talk was the best way to break the ice and the first step to take when trying to form bonds with others, so he thought he might as well give it a try, after all, he was going to have to befriend the kyubi jinchuuriki in order to conclusively complete his mission, which was to assess the blonde's mental stability, shinobi abilities, and loyalty to the village.

"I could ask you the same thing." Naruto retorted, effectively ending the conversation right than and there, after all, what could Sai possibly say to that. It's not like he could tell the blonde Uzumaki that he was watching and following him for the majority of the day and ended up at the main gate a whole hour and a half before the meeting time.

_'This is going to be a little more difficult than I anticipated.' _The young member of the foundation thought. What Sai didn't know however, was that the blonde Uzumaki had been aware of his presence since he started following him, he just didn't bother to confront the young member of the foundation about it because it didn't really affect his daily proceedings.

**Council Meeting Room...**

"What have you called us all here for this time, Tsunade? And what are these children doing here?" Danzo asked rudely, causing Tsunade to frown at the elder's disrespectful manner of adressing her.

Well, it wasn't really the presence of disrespect that infuriated the blonde sannin, but rather, the absence of respect. However, there was nothing she could do about it now without looking petty and maybe even power hungry. Also, she didn't want the younger generation to witness the power struggle and conflict between the higher ups, there was no telling how such a thing would affect them mentally, and she certainly wouldn't put it past Danzo to use any dispute that they might have in front of the new generation to manipulate some of them to see things from his point of view. So for now, she would have to just gritt her teeth and move on with proceedings.

Danzo on the other hand wasn't quite sure how to feel about the current situation, confused, curious, concerned, or all of the above. The Hokage calling for an unscheduled council meeting usually meant that something serious was up, but it wasn't an uncommon occurance. Even having one or two non-council members attending was not uncommon, as it usually just meant that said people had valuable information regarding said topic of discussion or were even at the centre of said discussion. But to have not only the clan heads, but also all the clan heirs attending the meeting was a little uncommon. However, even that didn't seem too suspicious or out of place to the war veteran, in fact, he thought it was something that should be practised alot more often, a very good method to prepare the next generation of Konoha protectors.

Sakura and Shizune's presence was also fine, they were the Hokage's apprentices after all, there was nothing wrong with their presence. Asuma was the head of the Sarutobi clan, so that was no surprise, however, Tenten, Rock Lee, Kurenai, Kakashi, and Gai were also present, what were they doing here? And if all these Sensei's and their students were invited, why wasn't Sai and the Kyubi invited, they were part of team seven were they not?

"If I may, Hokage-sama." Nara Shikaku interjected hastily.

"You may speak your mind, Shikaku." Tsunade acknowledged.

"Thank you." Shikaku said with a small bow of the head to the Hokage before proceeding to inform the attendants of the specifics of the meeting.

"Everyone, I know that you're curious about Hokage-sama's sudden call for a council meeting, but you should know, I was the one that requested that she do so. There is an important matter of concern that I feel, if left unattended to for too long, could even lead to the demise of the Village Hidden In The Leaves." Shikaku said with a grave undertone, much to the surprise and concern of everyone in the council room, apart from maybe the few who already knew or had an idea of what he was talking about.

"If this issue of concern is as important as you claim, than why have you and Tsunade turned this council room into a playground?" Koharu asked rudely, the rather old woman using the term 'playground' as a reference to the Konoha 12, of which only ten were present.

"Indeed, I am also curious, as I am sure so are the other esteemed members of the council." Homura agreed.

"Hokage-sama and I thought that they should be present as they are the people closest to the potential threat to our home, also, we believe that it is just about time for them to find out the truth about him. If he were to turn out to be a real threat to us, they would be the first ones in danger because frankly, they are the ones most likely to be teamed up with him for missions." Shikaku said logically and reasonably.

"So the topic of interest today is Naruto. I have heard that he has been acting very strange and suspiciously recently. However, I find it hard to believe that Uzumaki Naruto would pose such a threat to Konoha, at least, not intentionally. Admittedly, I don't like him very much, but nevertheless, the boy grew up right in front of my eyes, and I have met very few people who love Konoha more than him." Koharu retorted.

"True, the Uzumaki boy that grew up right before our eyes would never hurt Konoha by his own free will. I wolly agree with her on that matter, however, with the near uncontrolable power vested in him, he is, and will forever pose a threat to our existence whichever way one looks at it. By that virtue, I support yours and Hokage-sama's reasoning. Uzumaki Naruto, until such a time that he can show us that he has complete control of his power, should be watched and monitored at all times." Homura said with a sagely voice.

"Aaaaarg! What the hell are you old people blabbering about!" Kiba shouted angrily, catching everyone, Tsume, his own mother included, completely off guard.

"I know Naruto has become strong, hell he even defeated Kakashi-sensei right in front of my eyes! He's super strong, I get it, but what is this nonsense about uncontrollable power that needs to tamed! How the hell can someone lack that much control of their own abilities that he would destroy his own village! You're all making zero sense...mmmmmmm!"

"Shut-up Kiba, you're embarrassing us!" Kurenai whispered harshy, holding the down the Inzuka with her hand clamped down firmly over his big and seemingly uncontrollable mouth.

_'Heh, if Naruto needs to control his power, than you, Kiba, without a doubt need to learn to control your mouth.' _an amused Neji thought.

_'Why is everyone so afraid of Naruto-kun? I...is it because of t-that thing inside of him? What is that thing anyway, why does such a kind person like Naruto-kun have something like that inside of him.' _Hinata thought with concern.

_'I've always thought that something was strange about Naruto, like how come important people like Sandaime-sama, Jiraiya of the Sannin, and Godaime-sama were showing so much interest in an ordinary orphan like him. It just always rubbed me the wrong way, what was so special about him?' _Ino thought with frustration and a tad bit of jealousy.

_'Well, no matter, it looks like I'm about to get myself some juicy gossip, I hope the wait has been worth it!' _Ino thought excitedly, seemingly switching moods more often than she changes underwear.

_'I didn't want to accept it, but everyone is right. Something has to be done about Naruto, he's been acting too strange, someone needs to beat the senses back into him soon!' _Sakura thought with a lot of anger mixed in with a significant dose of naivety regarding the situation.

"Alrigh that's enough!" Tsunade shouted, releasing a significant dose of KI that had everybody stunned for a while, long enough for her to regain control of proceedings.

"Now, I want you all, as in you of Naruto's generation, to listen to me. I will adress you first, got it?"

"..."

"I said got it!" Tsunade shouted angrily.

"H-Hai Hokage-sama!" Everyone of the Konoha ten, Kiba included saluted respectfully and some even fearfully.

"I am going to tell you the truth about Naruto, this is an S-ranked secret that should not be discussed with anyone who doesn't already know about it under the penalty of death. If you don't believe you can adhere to these conditions, than you may please excuse yourself now." Tsunade said with a grave undertone.

"..."

"..."

_'Tche, as if anyone would miss out on this level of gossip!' _Ino thought cheekily.

"Neji, I'm aware of the fact that you have already figured it out all on your own, and I wouldn't be surprised if Shikamaru did aswell. Sakura knows this secret too, not because I told her, and not because Naruto told her, but because she heard it from two members of a very dangerous criminal organisation, the Akatsuki." Tsunade explained with forced patience.

"Akatsuki, what is that?"

"It is a criminal organisation, Kiba-baka! She just told you a few seconds ago! Stop interupting before I do something painful to you, just let her tell us the secret first!" Ino threatened furiously.

_'Although I have to admit that I'm also curious about what Sakura was doing with a criminal organisation.' _Ino thought with curiosity and a little jealousy that Sakura was privy to such information before her.

_'Tche, is gossip and Sasuke still all she can think about?' _Kiba thought with a mental roll of the eyes.

"Anyway! I won't beat about the bush, you shoud be old enough and experienced enough to handle this. The Kyubi was not killed by the Yondaime Hokage fifteen years ago, bijuu have an infinite life-span and cannot be killed. Even if someone coud manage it, they would simply re-animate themselves at some point in the future. Namikaze Minato, the Yondaime Hokage was renouned as the greatest seal master since the mythical sage of the six paths, and he sealed the Kyubi into an orphaned baby when he couldn't kill it at the cost of his life. It was a sacrifice neccessary to protect the village. He wanted said child to be seen as a hero who kept the beast at bay and protected the village, but people lost many loved ones during the Kyubi attack and were, as a result, full of hatred for the beast. When they found out about the child containing the beast, they were unable to forgive the beast and transfered that hate to the orphaned child, thereby trampling on the great Fourth Hokage's sacrifice and wishes. This child, as you may have figured out, is Uzumaki Naruto." Tsunade said dramatically, pausing slightly before carrying on where she left off.

"You all attended the shinobi academy with Naruto, you might have noticed how many people would have either ignored his very existence, or even displayed ouright hate and disgust towards him. In the place of love and admiration that most of you would have experienced because of your clan's reputations, Naruto only experienced hate, scorn, and isolation. Whereas you had parents to love, nurture, teach, and guide you, Naruto had to learn everything on his own, he had to feed himself, cloathe himself, teach himself, and basically raise himself. Still, despite all of this, Naruto was able to hope for a brighter future, he was even able to forgive the village and even strived to become Hokage so that he can protect the very same people who treated him like he was worse than trash. He was able to forgive even the one who sealed the evil Kyubi inside of him, and even admired him for his sacrifice and heroism. It was these character traits that were able to inspire me to accept the title of Godaime Hokage, that someone like him could exist was just so inspiring, it gave me hope and renewed my faith in the village and the world of humans as a whole..." Tsunade trailed off nostalgically. However, she didn't have time to dwell on the past right now, and was therefore quick to pull herself back from memory lane and continue where she left off.

"However, right now, it seems like all of this is changing, others believe that it might have already changed. Now that I think about it, it should not have been possible for Naruto to go through all that without harboring any negative feelings at all, it is humanly impossible. Probably, he was doing his best to suppress that side of himself, but you can only do that for so long before it all explodes on you. While I hate to say this, but, it is also possible that the Kyubi is manipulating him. The seal was designed to weaken and allow Naruto more excess to the Kyubi's chakra as he grew older and stronger himself, however, the more access he has to the Kyubi, the more acces the Kyubi has to him vice versa. Right now, Naruto needs to feel loved and appreciated more than any other time in his life, that is why you, his precious friends, are so important right now." Tsunade explained.

"N-no way! Do you really expect us to believe that Naruto has been living with something as evil and powerful as the Kyubi inside of him all this time? Give me a break old lady!" Kiba exclaimed incredulously.

"Kiba! Stop acting like a little brat! This is serious!" Ino exclaimed furiously, aiming a punch at the blonde Inuzaka's head only for the Inuzuka prodigy to dodge at the very last second.

"But come on Ino, even a gossip queen like you can't possibly take something like this at face value." Kiba retorted incredulously.

"Actually...everything that Hokage-sama said is true. There are nine tailed beasts in the world, and each of the five great ninja villages has one or two of them in their possession, and they use them to create a jinchuuriki, the name given to those individuals chosen to have the beasts sealed within them. You remember Gaara from the chuunin exams don't you, Kiba? He too was a jinchuuriki, a jinchuuriki of the sand spirit, the ichibi, also known by the name, Shukaku. If you don't believe me, you can go and read about it in the shinobi library, the power of the human sacrifice is not fiction, Kiba, it is fact." Nara Shikamaru explained.

_'Shikamaru was able to figure it out on his own and even went as far as gathering information on the history behind the tailed beasts, as expected of Shikaku-sama's son.' _a more than impressed Shizune thought.

_'Shikamaru is smart, and he wouldn't lie about something like this. But this is ridiculous, how can a dobe like Naruto have that much power.' _Kiba thought with a combination of disbelief and jealousy.

_'That pup is going to pay for embarrassing me and the clan in front of everyone.' _Tsume thought furiously.

"Okay, I get it, Naruto is a jinkuriki, fine whatever." Kiba replied irritably.

"It's jinchuuriki, not jinkuriki." Neji corrected.

"I said whatever! Anyway, what are we supposed to do about this, Hokage-sama?" Kiba asked curiously.

"Just be his friends, be the best friends that you can be to him under the circumstances. That's all you can do for him really, just show him that there are people who care about him. Can you do that?" Tsunade asked.

"I don't see the problem with that, if he could keep the Kyubi at bay all this time, I don't see any reason why I should start worrying now. Besides, he may be just a dobe, but he's a strong willed dobe." Kiba said with a cocky smirk.

"Kiba has no tact, but nevertheless, he has used a little logic in his hypothesis. This changes nothing, Naruto is still our friend and he can be saved. If the roles were reversed, the old Naruto that we know and love would not have given up on us, and neither will we." Shino said with a neutral tone, with everyone else nodding their heads in agreement.

"So that's what you all believe huh? That the old Naruto wouldn't have given up on any of his friends, that he would have tried his best to evict the darkness in you, no matter what?" Tsunade asked retorically.

"Hai, that is what we believe, right, everyone?" Kiba exclaimed confidently.

"Hai, Hokage-sama!" Everyone, except for Neji exclaimed in unison.

"I see. Well...if that is the case, what about the new Naruto, what do you think he would do?" Tsunade asked curiously.

"..."

"..."

"..."

"Well...is anyone going to say anything?" Tsunade prompted for a response.

"To be honest, none of us have been in contact with him since...well...since..."

"Since his battle with me?" Kakashi asked retorically, already having concluded the answer to the question on his own, but simply trying to varify his reasoning.

"Yes, but also since he almost killed Sakura. We were overwhelmed by the power he displayed against you and his lack of remorse for almost killing you, if anything, he almost seemed disapointed by the fact that you survived. To be blunt, we have no idea who this new Naruto is, the best we can hope for is that the old Naruto is still there somewhere, because if not, than he might end up turning out like Sasuke." Shikamaru said regretfully.

_'So, even they were able to figure out that something is seriously wrong, and they were also able to see that Naruto was really trying to kill me, and would have succeeded if it wasn't for Tsunade-sama's medical ninjutsu. I wanted to believe that I was just being paranoid, but if even his friends could see it, than it has to be true.' _a worried Kakashi thought with trepidition.

"So, none of you, apart from Sakura, have had any contact with Naruto since that incident whatsoever?" Tsunade asked once again.

"..."

"..."

"I see, well in that case..."

"W-wait! H-Hokage-sama...!" Hinata exclaimed nervously.

"What is it Hinata? Have you had any contact with Naruto?" Tsunade hastily asked.

"N-no, but he has visited Neji-nisan at the Hyuga compound on a few occassions...a-and, I...I've seen them meditating at the compound for hours, but they sometimes disappear together too, also for hours and...I can't track them down all the time, even...e-even with my byakugan." Hinata stuttered out nervously. Hell, she almost looked like she was about to have a nervous breakdown just from saying all of that in one go, in front of so many people with everyone's eyes firmly tuned on her.

_'Hinata-sama...I didn't think she would be brave enough to say anything on the matter. I guess her spine has hardened a little over the years, or is it because of her infatuation for Naruto that she was able to draw the courage to speak out?' _Neji thought with exasperation and a little frustration. As a Hyuga genius, he prided himself on his ability to accurately read people and predict their actions with precision. He truly never believed that Hinata would be able to speak out like that, especially with regards to a matter that could get him or especially Naruto into trouble.

"Nani! Are you sure about this, Hinata?" Tsunade questioned with intensity.

"H-hai, H-Hokage-sama. I'm sure!" Hinata stuttered.

_'Forgive me Neji-nisan, but I can't allow you and Naruto-kun to carry on endangering yourselves with whatever dangerous situation you're dealing with. I have to do something to help, even if all I can do is to let Hokage-sama deal with it. She loves Naruto-kun like a son, and she's strong. I'm sure she can help you somehow.' _Hinata thought with conviction. Neji on the other hand might as well have been an android, the Hyuga genius showing absolutely no outward reaction to Hinata's words at all, almost to the point that some wondered if he had even heard her at all.

"Neji...is this true?" Tsunade asked with barely contained rage.

"Yes, Naruto has come to visit me on a few occassions." Neji replied simply, almost as if talking about the weather forcast.

"How is that possible? Naruto has been under A.N.B.U serveilance since his battle with Kakashi. If he had visited you, I would have known for sure." Tsunade argued.

"If that is the case, than why did you even bother asking if anyone of us have had contact with him? Wouldn't you have already known the answer to that question through your A.N.B.U guards, or do you not trust them either?" Neji asked condensingly.

"I'm the one asking the questions here! Don't make me repeat myself or else..." Tsunade shouted maliciously, leaving the threat hanging in the air for Neji and everyone's elses imagination.

"His chakra was the same, so it was definitely Naruto that I was spending time with. Whether it was a clone or not however, is an entirely different matter altogether." Neji said smoothly and without a shred of fear, almost as if he never heard the Hokage's threat on his person at all, causing even some of the other meeting attendents to wonder if they hadn't just imagined the threat in the first place.

"A shadow clone? But if he sent shadow clones to visit you, that can only mean one thing. He must have had something to hide, and that something has everything to do with you. Neji, do you know something about Naruto that we don't?" Kakashi intercepted with a serious undertone.

"It's like Hinata-sama said, we spent most of our time together meditating. However, like any shinobi, Naruto prefers to have privacy when he trains, so sometimes, we disappear to a secret spot that I found when I was still a young boy and continue with our training there." Neji replied deceitfully but without actually lying at all.

"So you expect us to believe that Naruto aproached you of all people for training?" Kakashi asked incredulously.

"Of all people? What is wrong with him aproaching me, Kakashi-san?" Neji asked with mock curiosity.

"He could have come to me, Jiraiya-sama, or any other experienced jonin. Naruto has a lot of pride, I doubt he would freely admit inferiority of any sort to one of his peers." Kakashi retorted.

"I agree, that is unlike the Naruto we know at all." Tsunade said, fully backing the copy ninja up on his theory.

"Correct me if I am wrong, but didn't all of you admit only a few minutes ago that you didn't recognise this current Naruto? Didn't you admit that you had no idea what was going on in his mind? And finally, didn't you call us here because you wanted us to find out where his heart and mind are for you? How than, can you say, with confidence, that Naruto wouldn't come to me for help?" Neji asked retorically.

"Okay, I'll admit, you have a point. However, I, as Hokage, order you to tell me everything about the training that you granted Naruto." Tsunade ordered.

She really didn't want to resort to this, but Neji was really forcing her hand on this one. She wasn't about to let something as serious as this go that easily, even if she had to use her title to get the information that she wanted. Failure to comply with her orders would qualify as insurbordination, and, under such a charge, she would have the power to send him to Inoichi and Ibiki for interogation, it was a brutal method from her, but one born of neccessity.

_'Neji, what have you gotten yourself into now? I thought the darkness in your heart had been finally lifted after that battle with Naruto in the chuunin exams, after reading your father's last words and wishes. However...I'm starting to wonder about that.' _Hiashi, the Hyuga clan head, pondered with concern and worry.

"There was never a need to make it an order, I have nothing to hide. Naruto aproached me because he wanted emotional control training. He said that the ability to control your emotions is a very important skill for someone like him, a jinchuuriki. He believed that as a member of the Hyuga, a clan that prides itself on that particular character trait, that I was the best person to teach him that skill. That is why we spent so much time meditating together." Neji explained with a calm exterior.

_'So even now, Naruto is still trying his best to protect the village, even from himself.' _Tsunade thought with a bleeding heart.

"Are you sure you've told us everything Neji? Because, if there is anything that you're hiding from me...?" Tsunade trailed off with a warning and dangerous tone.

"The only other thing I can tell you is...that Naruto told me that he has not forgotten his promise to me, he told me that he still intends to change the Hyuga clan for the better. Also, he has every intention of becoming the greatest Kage in the elemental nations, the greatest of all time. Those are his own words." Neji said with a small but cocky smirk.

"Hiashi-dono, I see that your byakugan is active, were you able to detect any lies from your nephew?" Shikaku asked abruptly.

"No, everything he said was the truth." Hiashi answered stoicly.

_'However, why do I have this ominous feeling?' _Hiashi thought worriedly.

"I see, thank you for your help, I know it's a tough situation for you, given who he is to you." Shikaku said appreciatively.

"Don't worry about it, Shikaku-san, anything to help the village." Hiashi replied.

"Alright, if that is all, Naruto's friends may all be excused, yourself especially, Sakura...you have a mission to prepare for." Tsunade ordered.

"Hai, Tsunade-shishio!" Sakura acknowledged respectfully.

"There is no reason to interogate Neji anymore, the information he provided checks out, Jiraiya spoke to Naruto too today, and he came back with a similar response. You may all leave...now!" Tsunade ordered authoratively.

"Can I just say one thing, Hokage-sama?" Shikamaru asked with a serious expression.

"What is it?" Tsunade demanded impatiently.

"Who was Naruto's mother? I already know that his father is the Yondaime Hokage, Namikaze Minato, that much is obvious, but who was his mother?" Shikamaru demanded.

"Where did you get that information from, who told you!" a shocked Tsunade exclaimed furiously.

"I told you that I did reasearch about jinchuuriki didn't I? I learned that all jinchuuriki are usually related to either the reigning kage, a previous kage, or a person of similar stature and importance. This is done for two reasons, to ensure that the jinchuuriki will become a powerful asset and to ensure his or her loyalty. If Naruto were to be related to any of the Hokage, it would undoubtedly have to be the one who sealed it into him, the rasengan technique and their uncanny resemblance is also a dead give away. Naruto might as well be the Fourth Hokage's clone." Shikamaru explained with a bored tone.

_'Damn him, he's too smart for his own good!' _Tsunade thought irritably.

However, to say the rest of the Konoha 10 were shocked was a massive understatement, with the exception of Neji of course. None of them could easily accept that Naruto, formerly known as the deadlast dobe, could ever be related to any of the five Hokage. Finding out that he was the son of the legendary fourth was a mind shock of epic proportions. Everything was just happening too fast, revelation after revelation, all in one day was a little too much for them to digest all in one go, so much so that they didn't even know how to react to the news.

"Okay, fine. Since you've already blurted out so much, you might as well hear the rest of the story. Yes, Minato was Naruto's biological father. His mother was the former jinchuuriki of the nine tails, Uzumaki Kushina of Uzushiogakure's Uzumaki clan..."

"Tsunade! You've said enough! There's no need to reveal so much information!" Danzo snapped with a bang of his walking stick against the floor.

"There's no value in keeping it a secret either. The only way for them to reach Naruto is for them to understand who and what he is, every bit of information will influence how they aproach the situation. If they are going to help Naruto, they are going to need to know everything about him. You should also remember that we are not going to live forever, there will come a time when the next generation will have to take over. No one knows when they are going to die, we need to educate the youth now, while we still can so that they can protect the future. Besides, I don't need you to tell me how to do my job, know your place, Danzo!" Tsunade said with a threatening undertone.

"Fine! But don't come crying for my help when everything blows up on your face." Danzo replied snidely.

_'Tche! Arrogant bastard, undermining me at every opportunity he gets, you'll have what's coming to you soon enough, Danzo!' _Tsunade thought angrily.

"T-There's no such thing! You really expect us to believe this nonsense! If there was such a thing as Uzushiogakure no Sato, we would know about it by now. I've never even heard of such a ninja village, nor have I heard anything about no Uzumaki clan!" Kiba exclaimed with an accusing finger.

"That settles it! You're going to get that punishment now, I can't possibly allow you to continue to disrespect Hokage-sama like that!" Kurenai exclaimed furiously.

"T-that punishment! No! Please, anything but that, Kurenai-sensei, I promise I won't do it again!" Kiba begged pathetically, eyes wide in shock and fear of 'that' punishment.

"Than shut up!" Kurenai ordered furiously.

_'Hn, I wonder what kind of punishment would have the little mut so scared. I need to speak to Kurenai and find out about it, it might come in handy sometime in the near future.' _Tsume thought with a sadistic smirk.

"H-hai." Kiba whined.

"Kiba is right though. I too have never heard of an Uzumaki clan, nor have I heard of Uzushiogakure." Shikamura retorted with a confused but curious expression.

"Uzushiogakure were old allies of ours. The thing is, only an Uzumaki has a powerful enough life-force to keep the Kyubi at bay for an entire lifetime. The life-force of an Uzumaki is so strong that most of them can live for twice the lifespan of a normal human being. In fact, Uzushiogakure was even nicknamed as the Village Of Longetivity." Tsunade explained, taking a deep breathe to allow the information to settle in before continuing with her tail.

"The Uzumaki clan and the Senju clan had good relations with one another, as a result, my grandfather, the Shodaime Hokage had an arranged marriage with the Uzumaki clan between himself and an Uzumaki princess, Uzumaki Mito, to solidify our alliances. However, part of the reason was so that we can have a vessel for the Kyubi. Uzumaki Mito became the first jinchuuriki of the Kyubi, Naruto's mother, Uzumaki Kushina, who was the fourth's secret wife, became the second, and Naruto the third..." Tsunade explained before she was interupted by an elder voice.

"Tsunade is right young ones, only an Uzumaki can contain the Kyubi successfully. However, even with a strong life-force, it is still possible for the Kyubi to overwhelm a person. Another advantage that an Uzumaki clan possessed against the beast was their unrivalved knowledge and natural talent for the sealing arts. The Uzumaki clan was so advanced in the sealing arts that Iwa, Kumo, and Kiri banded together to destroy the Uzumaki clan. It took three powerful ninja villages to destroy them, such was the power that they wielded with their seals and barriers. These abilities, as you can imagine, were useful for containing the fox. However, Naruto has no real knowledge of Uzumaki clan kinjutsu nor has he even displayed any real talent for it, of course, perhaps he hasn't had the chance to learn about it. Nevertheless, if he were to lose control of the Kyubi, there would be no one else capable of containing the beast, Naruto is the last living member of his clan." Homura explained with a worried undertone.

None of the older generation showed any surprise at what was being said, having already been privy to this information as all of it happened in the third shinobi war, a war that they had been very much a part of. If anything really surprised them, it was the fact that this information was being shared so freely with the younger generation, but than again, most of them were already chuunin, Neji was a jonin already, and the majority of them were destined for leadership positions as clan heads, perhaps it was just about time they were prepared for their future responsibilities.

On the other hand, to say that the young generation, the ones being adressed, were surprised would equate to a gross understatement. It was incredibly hard for some to accept that Naruto, the deadlast Naruto had such a rich background and heritage, one that seemed to put him par or even above the rogue Uchiha Sasuke in terms of royal status. This was something that would take more than a day to completely process, the whole world just seemed to have been a lie or an illussion up until now, quite a mind blowing experience really. Tsunade, seeing that no one was going to say anything anytime soon, decided to break the silence in order to move things along in the right direction.

"You have all been briefed about the current situation. You should be able to understand now why Naruto is so important to the village...important to me..." Tsunade trailed off with a concerned expression and tone. However, she had no time to dwell on her regrets and concerns, thus steeling her resolve and and choosing to rather focus on what needed to be done.

"There is something else that you need to hear about, but before I tell you about that, now would be the right time to ask any questions that you might have about Naruto. So...are there any questions?" Tsunade asked.

"I have a question." Shikamaru said hastily.

"Yes...?" Tsunade asked.

"Naruto has never mentioned anything about his parents or jinchuuriki status. The conversation I heard between him and Gaara at the hospital tells me that he had knowledge of his status as a jinchuuriki, but what about his parents? What about the Uzumaki clan? Naruto doesn't know about them, does he?" Shikamaru asked with narrowed eyes.

"What would make you think such a thing, Shikamaru?" Shikaku asked with intrigue.

"I don't like to meddle in other people's lives, nor do I like to entertain thoughts about emotions, but Naruto's emotional disposition when we grew up was nothing like a person of such a prestiged background. He was even worse than the average orphan, easily attached to people who showed him even the slightest kindness, quick to beg for attention and love, and he had some abandondment issues and insecurities so vast and deep regarding his social status...no, no way! Naruto couldn't have had knowledge about any of this. What I want to know, is why?" Shikamaru asked.

"Why what?" Tsunade asked.

"Why he was never told about this? And why you are telling us and not him about it? I would like to understand the reasoning behind this." Shikamaru asked curiously, causing Tsunade to release an audible sigh at the young Nara's troublesome perceptiveness.

_'This boy is smart, maybe smarter than the members of the Nara clan that I have in the foundation. So much potential, I wish I had discovered him earlier, I might have found a good successor in him. Knowing his father and his suspisions and distrust of me, I wouldn't be surprised if it was he who told the boy to hide his abilities from the instructors at the academy.' _Danzo thought regretfully.

"Personally, I think that Naruto should have been made aware of his status from the beginning, it is the village populace that should have been kept in the dark about everything, not Naruto. However, I understand that the Yondaime, Minato, wanted Naruto to be seen as a hero who carries a huge burden to protect village, therefore, taking this wishes into account, Sarutobi-sensei informed the village of Naruto's status as a jinchuuriki along with Minato's wishes. The people thought of Minato as a great hero for his exploits against Kumo and Iwa in the third shinobi war and a great messiah for saving the village from the fox. Baring that in mind, Sarutobi-sensei did not imagine that the people, despite their hate and contempt for the fox, would so blatently disregard Minato's wishes for Naruto." Tsunade explained.

"That's no excuse for what happened after that though is it? Having seen the people's reaction to Naruto, why not than tell them about Naruto's royal heritage and direct relation to Yondaime-sama? If they knew just how much Yondaime-sama and his wife sacrificed for them, they would have likely praised Naruto as the hero that he is...at the very least, they would have treated him with a little more respect." Neji countered smoothly, leaning against the sidewall with his arms crossed over his chest and his eyes closed, creating a somewhat serene and cool image of himself.

"Minato-sensei was a feared shinobi in the elemental nations with a countless horde of enemies. Revealing such delicate information would have put his life at great risk. He never would have made it to the age of ten under those conditions." Kakashi retorted.

"That's no excuse either, and you all know it. Sandaime-sama had an equal horde of enemies, perhaps even more considering how long that he had been alive, but his grandchild, Konohamaru has not been denied his identity. How is his situation any different from Naruto's?" Neji countered, now staring at the currently disabled copy nin with the corner of his left eye.

"Konohamaru still has living relatives who can protect him. He has the whole Sarutobi clan, Asuma, and up until three years ago, Sandaime-sama was still alive to protect his grandchild. The same could not be said about Naruto." Kakashi retorted impatiently.

"You know, Naruto taught me something valuable in my interactions with him. He taught me that the word 'family' does not extend only to dna and blood relations, in fact, Naruto once told me that he considered Konoha not to be just a ninja village, but a clan, a family that he belonged to. So I can't help but be amazed by the fact that Yondaime-sama's son had no one willing to take him in and give him the love of a family that he deserved despite many, yourself included, having such close relations to his father and mother." Neji said with contained contempt, his words clearly directed at the copy nin, Jiraiya, Hiruzen, and Tsunade's failure to do anything of real value for Naruto and his family depsite said family's sacrifices for them and the village.

"If something like this can happen to Yondaime-sama's son, than what exactly is this will of fire that has been preached over and over to us? Is it just some kind of propaganda that the higher ups use to control and manipulate..."

"That's enough!" Tsunade shouted furiously, banging her fist harshly against her podium to emphasize her anger as she blasted the young Hyuga genius with a sizeable dose of killing intent.

"You are the last person to preach about family love and loyalty, aren't you the one that once attempted to publicly assassinate your cousin Hinata at the chuunin exams?" Tsunade countered fiercely.

"Very well. I will say no more on this matter." Neji replied simply, closing his eyes once again as if to go into a meditative trance.

_'Arrogant brat! First Sasuke and now him? Damn Naruto certainly has a terrible choice of friends!' _Tsunade thought, barely containing herself from jumping over the podium and smashing the living daylights out of that, according to her, pompous brat from the Hyuga clan.

"There is no point in us fighting. Mistakes have been made in the past and mistakes will be made in the future...this is because the world has been made to be imperfect. Hard as we try, as long as we are human, we will never be able to attain perfection. What is important however, is that we find a way to learn from our mistakes, forgive one another, and than try to attone for those mistakes. We must try to ensure that the next generation, you young ones, do not fall over the same traps as we did. So please, let us stop blaming one another and try to find a solution together, our very own existence could be hinging on what we decide to do today, in this very room." Homura said with a tired but encouraging voice of wisdom.

"You elders keep talking about an eminent danger to our home, logic insists that there is still something that we have not been made aware of." Shino said with a questioning tone.

"I believe Hokage-sama was about to brief you about said threat..." Homura trailed off suggestively.

"Ahem, yes well, I will once again go straight to the point. There is an organisation consisting mainly of S-rank criminals from all over the elemental nations. This organisation has a particularly threatening mission, to hunt down and capture all nine jinchuuriki and extract their bijuu. We do not know what exactly they plan to do with the bijuu, but, needless to say, we can't allow them to capture Naruto." Tsunade explained.

"But it's only one organisation, how much danger could they really cause to a village of our size and strength?" Tenten queried skeptically.

"You don't believe this organisation to be a threat to us huh? Than consider this, Orochimaru alone had the individual strength and man power to take Konoha to the brink of extinction, and he was only one member of aproximately ten from this organisation. Think about that and re-evaluate your judgement. I'm sure you will agree, that Akatsuki is a major threat to Konoha, and possibly, the whole shinobi world as we know it." Tsunade replied

"Orochimaru...is a member of this organisation? But than that means that he can't be the leader of this organisation, if he was, he would have brought the whole Akatsuki's might down on us. That means that there is someone, or people in this organisation that are stronger than even him. This is more dangerous than I initially thought." Shikamaru said with a hysterical and fearfull expression.

"Do not allow fear to cloud your judgement, Shikamaru. What have I been teaching you all this time." Shikaku chasticed.

"T-tou-san..."

"He's right, Shikamaru. First of, there is some interesting information about Orochimaru. He has been, was, and is still weakened from his battle with Sarutobi-sensei. Sensei used the Uzumaki clan's Shikki Fuin to seal Orchimaru's arms into the shinigami. Consequently, he has lost the ability to utilise most of his ninjutsu. Furthermore, Orchimaru had already defected from Akatsuki when he attacked Konoha, and they want him dead for his betrayal. He won't be revealing himself or attacking anyone anytime soon." Tsunade explained.

"And yet, Akatsuki is still a threat even greater than Orochimaru, as Shikamaru said, there must be at least one or two members in this organisation that individually far exceed even Orochimaru in power, otherwise they couldn't possibly control so many high ranked shinobi. Right now, I can't help but wonder if it is even possible to defeat this organisation." Shino countered logically.

"You underestimate Konoha's power, and you underestimate yourselves. Team Guy, Kakashi, and Sakura were able to take down an Akatsuki member who single handedly took down and captured Kazekage-dono, and one of your own was able to singlehandedly take down another Akatsuki member recently. There were originally, roughly nine or ten Akatsuki members according to our intel, now there are aproximately seven or eight to go. The situation is not as bad as it may seem, they may be strong, but Akatsuki is not invincible." Tsunade countered in an effort to boost the spirit and confidence of the young shinobi inside the council room.

"Someone singlehandedly defeated an Akatsuki member! Who was it?" Ino exclaimed hysterically, not quite sure what to believe at the moment, but than again, the Hokage wouldn't lie about something like this would she.

"She said that one of our own was able to singlehandedly take down an Akatsuki. By process of elimination, it can easily be concluded that it was Naruto, especially when one considers the ease with which he was able to defeat Kakashi-sensei." Shikamaru said without a shadow of a doubt, causing Kakashi to scratch the back of his head with embarrassment.

"Maa maa give me a break will ya, no one could have expected such a dramatic improvement in Naruto's skills. I was just caught off guard that's all." Kakashi retorted.

"As was this Akatsuki member he defeated I suppose. They must obviously have spent a great length of time gathering intel on their targets before commencing with their mission. Their intel on Naruto would have been outdated. Naruto could possibly be the key to winning this war against Akatsuki. In anycase, who were the names of these two Akatsuki members that Team Gai and Team Kakashi encountered, and do we have the identities of any others?" Shikamaru asked.

"Akatsuki operates in two man cells, this cell consisted of Akusuna no Sasori and Bakuton no Deidara of Iwa. They were both extremely skilled and dangerous, they also considered themselves to be artists of some kind." Tsunade said with a small laugh at the ludicrousy of such an organisation having an interest in something as delicate and exotic as art.

"Anyway, we have no idea where the Akatsuki headquarters is situated and we have no idea of their leader's identity. But we know about two other members in their organisation, Uchiha Itachi who betrayed Konoha and slayed his own kinsmen, and Hoshigaki Kisame, the Monster of Kiri. These two are partners and attempted to capture Naruto three years ago, they are bound to make another attempt soon enough. We must be prepared for this, therfore you, as Naruto's friends and collegues, will have to get stronger. You have done, and will be doing many missions with Naruto, as a result, even if you had no interest in risking your life for Naruto, you wouldn't have much of a choice. Akatsuki will likely target him when he is outside of the village and you will undoubtedly be caught in the crossfire. You need to be prepared!" Tsunade said with grave undertone.

"..."

"..."

"Can I count on you?" Tsunade asked finally.

"Hai Hokage-sama!" The Konoha 10 saluted.

"Good. You may now be excused. We, the council, have other matters to discuss." Tsunade ordered.

"Wait...!" Shikamaru exclaimed suddenly.

"What?" Tsunade asked impatiently.

"What about Naruto?" Shikamaru asked.

"What about him?" Tsunaded asked in turn.

"Well, it was earlier implied that Naruto is acting out of character nowadays, and that he might even be a flight risk. How do we proceed from here on?" Shikamaru asked the question on everyone elses mind.

"I thought I told you earlier, Naruto needs to feel loved and appreciated right now. You are his friends, you should know what to do." Tsunade retorted.

"However...simply showing someone your love and dedication to someone doesn't gaurantee that they will reciprocate those feelings. This method has been tried before, it was not enough to disuade Uchiha Sasuke from defecting." Shino squeezed in.

"Shino's right. There are many differences between Sasuke and Naruto, but if there is one characteristic that they share, it is their stubborn personality and unwillingness to abandon their resolve and convictions." Shikamaru pointed out.

"I see..." Tsunade trailed off with concern, bitting furiously at her thumbnail in an effort to pull out a perfect plan from the depths of her mind.

"Wait a minute! I know Naruto has been acting strange, but didn't Neji say that Naruto still wanted to become the Hokage, and didn't you say that Jiraiya-sama was able to confirm the same thing, Hokage-sama? I don't understand why we are still treating him like a flight risk or an enemy?" a confused Tenten asked.

"Because, right now, we can't be sure if Naruto's desire for the title is neccessary a good thing..." Kakashi trailed off gravely, the words spoken with an intense gaze directed at Shimura Danzo. If Danzo was phased by either Kakashi's glare or his words, than he was more than good at hiding his emotions, the war veteran giving absolutely nothing in his poker faced expression.

"Kakashi-sensei has a good point. Naruto is currently shrouded with too much darkness and secrecy for us to trust him. It might also be that someone is manipulating him. There is also no guarantee that the demon fox itself hasn't had any influence on him. I think that is also why we have to become his true friends, we need to show him how much he means to us, and we need him to reveal his true self to us. Nevertheless, I also have a quick plan that can help me glean a significant amount of intel about his personality." Shikamaru said with wisdom equivalent to that of an elder.

"You have a plan? What kind of plan could force out information that a person clearly has no intention of revealing? I hope you don't plan to use my daughter in this plan of yours, there is a reason why we haven't used mind transfer interogation methods on Naruto." Inoichi said with a threatening voice.

"Don't worry, all I want to do is to play shogi with Naruto. I am confident that a simple game will not in any way endanger Ino's life." Shikamaru replied with a small smirk.

"Shogi? How is that going to help exactly?" Shizune asked with a stupified expression.

"Heh, good idea Shikamaru, you've really taken my teachings to heart haven't you." Shikaku said with a knowing smile.

"What do you mean Shikaku?" Tsunade asked impatiently.

"It's really simple. Imagine the shogi player in the same capacity as the Hokage. If the shogi player is the Hokage, than the king is the Daimyo, and the queen is the Jonin Commander. The knights are the Jonin and the A.N.B.U, and the pawns are the chuunin and genin. Just like your individual personality determines your success and the manner with which you run the village, so will Naruto's real personality determine the decisions and the moves that he will make when he plays shogi. In other words, theoretically speaking of course, Shikamaru will know what kind of man Naruto is and whether he will make a good leader or not after one or two games of shogi." Shikaku explained much to everyones awe.

_'Hn, a good idea Shikamaru, however, you are still asking the wrong question. The question is not whether Naruto would make a good leader or not, but whether he will make a good leader for __**Konoha.**__' _Neji thought with amusement.

_'Way to go Shikamaru, you never seize to amaze me.' _Asuma thought with pride.

"Interesting idea...do you think this will really work, Inoichi?" Tsunade asked.

"I don't see why not. A person's real personality is usually best reflected by hypothetical or actual stressful circumstances, even if something that appears to be as simple as a game of shogi can tell you a lot about a person. However, mind transfer and manipulation techniques aside, there is still no better way of knowing someone than to befriend them and earn their trust." Inoichi replied.

"In that case, we will use both mine and Shikamaru's idea. In fact, a game of shogi once in a while will fullfil both requirements, Shikamaru will be able to befriend Naruto and do a personality and mental evaulation of him at the same time. In any case, I want every one of you kids to do your outmost to befriend Naruto, and I want everyone who was here today to keep a look out for any strange behaviour on Naruto's part, are we clear?" Tsunade demanded authoratively.

"Hai Hokage-sama!"

**Minutes later at the Main Gate...**

"Hello, Uzumaki Naruto, Haruno Sakura, Sai. My name is Yamato and I will be your captain for this mission. Unlike Kakashi, I am not your sensei or your mentor, I am your captain and you are merely shinobi under my beck and call. Don't expect me to coddle you at any point in time in the duration of our time together. Now, before we go, is there anything anyone of you would like to say?" The man, now known as Yamato asked, a rather tall man with spiky brown hair and dark eyes with straight and plain facial features, wearing the standard Konoha jonin outfit with a forehead protector stylized in the form of a faceguard similar to that of the second hokage.

"I have a question." Naruto said simply.

"Go on..." Yamato prompted.

"Is Yamato your real name or your mission codename?" Naruto asked bluntly.

"That is none of your business, Naruto-san. I will only answer questions that are relevant to the mission." Yamato deflected.

"Very well, than tell me all about your abilities." Naruto asked, or rather, demanded.

"My abilities are also none of your business. A shinobi never reveals information about his abilities. In the shinobi world, today's friend can easily become tomorrow's foe." Yamato answered with a straight face.

_'Today's friend can easily become tommorrows foe huh? I see, this guy was brought in because he has some kind of advantage over me. This must explain why there is something strange but oddly familier about his chakra, especially the size and potency of it.' _Naruto thought wearily.

"You realise that our enemy is Orochimaru, right? I know that Hokage-sama has briefed you about everything with regards to our abilities, our chances of success would increase exponentially if you extended us the same courtesy, it would help us to refine and sync our teamwork. Our mission target, being a shinobi himself will likely surprise us somehow, we can't afford to be surprised by our teammates as well, Sasuke's retrieval rests on the success of this mission." Naruto countered, using the effect of Uchiha Sasuke's name as a trumpcard to get his way and win the arguement.

"Fair enough, you have made your point, and I have heard it. We will make one stop for rest close to Kusa. That is where we will also practise our teamwork drills before our meeting with the spy, I will show you what I can do then, and only then." Yamato replied with a serious tone.

"That sounds good to me." Naruto replied calmly.

_'Tsunade-sama was right, this Naruto is completely different from the one in his profile, I'll have to keep a careful eye on him.' _Yamato thought.

"Anymore questions?" Yamato asked.

"..."

"..."

"I don't have a question, but there is something that I want to say. A spy can lose their sense of loyalty and defect to the enemy's side..."

"I am already aware of that." Yamato cut in.

"Good, than you're aware of the possibilty that this could be a ploy by Orochimaru and Kabuto to assasinate Sasori, right?" Naruto asked retorically.

"Yes, and?" Yamato asked, unable to help but wonder where exactly the young Uzumaki was going with this.

"If Orochimaru shows up, I will fight him on my own, the rest of you must focus on capturing Kabuto and finding Sasuke." Naruto instructed almost as if he had the authority.

"Nonsense! As if I could ever allow that, Orochimaru is one of the sannin, you're no match for him, none of us are. If Orochimaru turns up, we will retreat and call for back-up." Yamato replied incredulously.

"I'm not taking anyone's side, however, Dickless is a student of one of those sannin, and he was able to singlehandedly defeat an Akatsuki member, a member of an organisation Orochimaru is said to be terrified of. Also, according to my sensei, Orochimaru had his arms sealed within the shinigami, as a result, he has limited access to his ninjutsu arsenal. Finally, even if things get difficult, Dickless still has the demon fox to fall back on. Perhaps there is some merit in granting Dickless his wish to fight Orochimaru if you take all of that into account." Sai explained with an emotionless exterior.

_'Naruto has to fight Orochimaru, fighting against someone that strong is the only way that I will get to gather accurate intel on him.' _Sai thought, only to be broken from his thoughts by one Haruno Sakura's outburst.

"Sai is right, we have to save Sasuke-kun at any cost, we won't get this close again any time soon!" Sakura said with a voice full of steel.

She hated to admit it, but, even though she had become much stronger over the years, Naruto was clearly still far ahead of her. The gap just seemed to have not shortened at all, in fact, given his recent achievements and knowing that Naruto still had the foxe's power to fall back on, it just seemed to Sakura that the gap had become even wider. Nevertheless, that power was serving her a good purpose right now, so she didn't have time to entertain thoughts of jealousy, not if it meant getting her Sasuke-kun back. She would have time to entertain those thoughts once Sasuke was back in her arms, which is where he belongs, or so she thought.

"As you can imagine, I am enclined to agree with them, besides, you're crazy anyway if you think Orochimaru will allow us to escape. If Orochimaru is there, we'll have no choice but to fight it out to the death." Naruto said robotically, causing Yamato to release an audible sigh, having no choice but to agree with the blonde Uzumaki's analysis.

"Fine, you're right. We don't really have much of a choice. Tsunade-sama must have also realised it could come to this. The fact that she sent us must mean that she has enough faith in us to believe that we can survive this. We will do as you wish, if Orochimaru joins the scene, Naruto will fight him while the rest of us focus our minds and bodies on the completion of the mission. It's like Naruto said, shinobi rule number four, a shinobi must always put the mission first above and over everything else." Yamato answered carefully.

"A wise decision, Yamato-taicho. Now than, she we be on our way?" Naruto asked expectantly.

"Yes, it is time to go. Team 7, move out!" Yamato ordered as the new team seven, almost immediately, disappeared into the surounding forests via the shunshin no jutsu.

_'If the Kyubi Jinchuuriki really defeated Sasori on his own, than he should be able to at the very least hold off Orochimaru long enough for us to capture Kabuto, if he doesn't defeat him by himself that is.' _Yamato thought rationally, trying to re-assure himself about his decision to allow a mere fifteen year old with roughly three years off experience to fight against one of the most dangerous men in the world on his own.

**Three Days Later: Tenchi Bridge...**

_'What happened, how did I get here?' _Kabuto thought wearily, a nineteen year old young man of average height with white hair styled in a pony tail with two bangs falling down the sides of his face, and thick, round glasses with dark eyes behind them, wearing a sleeveless, purple top with a white t-shirt underneath it and purple pants with dark blue shinobi sandals. He also has a kunai pouch attatched to his left leg and a black sash tied around waist.

The experienced teenager, now standing at the top of a high cliff after having gotten up on his feat, found himself in complete awe at the site before, above, and below him. If one looked down from the cliff, they would see what appears to be an articulate and beautiful array of futuristic looking buildings stretching for miles and miles ahead. However, around, congruent, tangent, and intertwined within and around the humungous city was an equal array of plant and animal life, creating the perfect blend between nature and technology, the two states of existence seemingly existing in harmony with each other.

This was something that Kabuto could honestly say that he had never heard of or seen before. It was well known that industrialization and nature could not exist together in the same place. Humans were always required to destroy nature in order to build their technological structures. However, it seemed that the situation was different here as most of the building stuctures seemed to be floating just above the surface. However, looking high up into the sky, Kabuto was able to see that some of the buildings were floating high and above the city, beautiful structures that seemed to be functioning with an impossible technology, even to a mad scientist like himself.

The mad scientist could also see far ahead, near the coast, that the village, or city, or whatever it was seemed to be surrounded by powerful whirlpools, almost as if protecting the place from possible intruders and ivasion. Truly, this place was more than remarkable and was of the makings of a dream. If anything, this place seemed like heaven more than earth if you asked him.

However, it was only a split second later that Kabuto, with startling realisation, concluded that he might indeed have travelled to the afterlife. The last thing he remembered was a three tailed Uzumaki Naruto staring at him with the wild and sinister eyes of the Kyubi before he blacked out and awakened in this place.

"N-no way! I...I can't be possibly have died! How...how did this happen?" Kabuto exclaimed hysterically.

"You're not dead, Kabuto." a male voice Kabuto thought to be familiar sounded from behind him, the young man placing a hand on his left shoulder in a manner intended to be a comforting gesture.

Kabuto, startled, instinctually activated his chakra scalpel technique and swivelled around with a swinging left arm, his hand illuminated with green chakra as he attempted to cut through the enemy's midesction, only for his hand to faze through the the young boy he now recognised as one Uzumaki Naruto.

"An illusion...?" Kabuto whispered with wide eyes.

"Not an illusion, but an after image." Naruto, now standing a distance away behind his disappearing after-image, answered with a calm tone.

"An after image? What does that mean exactly?" Kabuto asked suspiciously, the young medic now adopting a defensive and battle ready stance.

"It is a result of my bloodline limit related kinjutsu, the swift release: shadowless flight technique. That after image that you see is a result of the inability of your eyes to keep up with my movements." Naruto replied slowly and carefully.

_'N-no way! There is no way that he is that fast! That kind of speed would put him at a level far beyond even Sasuke, he might even be faster than the raikage!' _Kabuto thought in disbelief.

"The dibelief in your eyes is understandable, I don't blame you for not believing me, however, your refusal to accept the truth will not change the reality. But think about it carefully, knowing who my father was, is it really a surprise that I would be able to move at this kind of speed myself?" Naruto asked retorically, causing Kabuto's eyes to widen in surprise and realisation.

_'Orochimaru once said that Naruto-kun was Yondaime Hokage Minato's son, but I never quite believed it up until now. Naruto didn't show anywhere near the level of talent that Uzumaki Kushina and Minato's son should have inherited...not until this very moment' _Kabuto thought, not really sure what to make of the current situation.

_'However, I know better than anyone else that somethings in this world are not always as they appear to be, although, I never thought that Naruto would be able to fool me even more than I did him during the chuunin exams three years ago.' _Kabuto thought, mentally smacking himself for his lack of foresite. For a spy of his calibre, to have missed something so important in his information gathering was more than a little embarrassing.

"You said something about having a kekkei genkei? What is this kekkei genkei that you speak of?" Kabuto asked curiously.

"All in good time, Kabuto." Naruto said dismissively.

"Anyway, is that really the question you should be asking right now? Aren't you wondering where we are? Or why I have brought you here?" Naruto asked retorically, causing Kabuto's eyes, once again, to widen substantially.

"Y-you're the one that brought me here? What is this place, and how did you bring me here? Why can't dispell this genjutsu? Is it because you're using the fox's chakra?" Kabuto asked in quick succession.

"Well, you're right about one thing, I was able to bring and keep you here because of the fox's chakra, however, this isn't a genjutsu, this is my mindscape. The ability to drag one's own conscience to the mindscape is an ability that all jinchuuriki possess, but I have altered that technique so that I can drag others into my mindscape as well." Naruto explained much to Kabuto's continued surprise.

_'This is unbelievable! Is this really Naruto...was he really a genius all along? Was he only pretending to be an idiot all this time?' _A confused Kabuto pondered.

"T-this can't be possible? How can anyone possess such a powerful ability? That would mean absolute and guaranteed defeat for anyone who looked into your eyes!" Kabuto argued in denial.

"So what? Isn't that the same for people like Uchiha Itachi and Shishui? One look in the eyes and it's all over?" Naruto asked with a raised eyebrow.

"B-but..."

"Hehe! Relax, Kabuto. This ability is not something I would risk using against powerful opponents. Can you imagine what Itachi could do if I just invited him into my mind? What about a powerful member of the Yamanaka clan like Inoichi? I'm taking a big risk as it is by bringing you to this place." Naruto explained calmly.

"I see..." Kabuto thought out loud, taking a quick look around as if looking for an enemy before facing the blonde Uzumaki again with a questioning gaze.

"Where is the Kyubi? If coming here is an ability granted to you because of your jinchuuriki status, than shouldn't the fox be somewhere around here?" Kabuto asked with barely contained curiosity and deeply hidden fear.

"I have banished him to another part of my mind for the time being, there's no telling what he'd do if he saw you here." Naruto replied simply, causing Kabuto to release an audible gulp at the blonde Uzumaki's words.

"Okay, than answer this, why does your mindscape look like this? What is the significance of a place like this, especially for someone containing such an evil spirit inside of him?" Kabuto asked, hoping to gather as much information as he could before the blonde Uzumaki decides to attack him, or feed him to the fox. It was also a diversion tactic, the young medic hoping to buy as much time as possible so that he can figure out a way to get out of here.

"This place actually exists in the real world, it is the place where I feel most safe and comfortable in, a place very precious to me that I want to protect with everything that I have within me." Naruto answered truthfully, causing, once again, surprise to leak into Kabuto's facial expression.

"I don't understand? This isn't Konoha, and I have never heard of or seen this place, why would it be so important to you? I thought you wanted to be the Hokage, shouldn't Konoha be the place most precious place to you?" Kabuto asked with a small frown.

This was all a little too much to take in. It was almost like everything that Kabuto knew about the world was being wiped clean and stripped away from him only to be replaced with a new and different reality. Everything he thought he knew about Naruto was starting to appear to be complete and utter rubbish, and while it intrigued him to no end, another side of him didn't like that one bit, because it meant that he was incompetent as a spy, and that his pride and confidence as a spy was misplaced.

"I have no intention of becoming Hokage, in fact, I want to become Uzukage and than destroy Konoha, or destroy Konoha and than become Uzukage, in whichever order." Naruto said with a malicious smile.

"W-what...?" a stupified Kabuto trailed off in surprise.

"Yes, the place you see in my mindscape is the new Uzushiogakure that I have rebuilt. I've already recruited a couple of clans under my wing, the Fuma clan, formerly of Oto and lead by Fuma Kagero, the Branch Family of The Hyuga clan, lead by Hyuga Neji, the Kamizuru clan, a clan that I manged to convince to defect from Iwa due to Iwa's mistreatment, lead by Kamizuru Suzumebachi, the Sora clan, formerly known as the Hidden Sky Village of Sky Country and possessing the vessel of the Reibi, lead by Sora Shinno, the Nadeshiko clan, formerly known as the Nadeshiko Village and conceiving female shinobi only, lead by Nadeshiko Shizuka, and, last but not least, the Hoshi clan, formerly known as Hoshigakure no Sato, a clan of people whose dna was mutated by a mystical star that is said to have fallen near their village, granting their chakra special properties that enhance chakra manipulation to an inhuman level, a clan lead by Hoshi Natsuhi." Naruto explained patiently, watching the intrigued and surprised expression on Kabuto's face with barely contained amusement.

"You...you turned former hidden villages into clans and than assimilated them into your ninja village? I've heard of clans banding together to form a hidden village before, but I've never heard of whole ninja villages banding together to form an even bigger ninja village. So much power...so much potential!" Kabuto thought out loud, a demented and excited smirk slowly but surely morphing into his facial features.

_'Heh, I knew that would catch his interest, now, what are you going to do about this information, Kabuto.' _Naruto thought with anticipation.

"Hahahaha! Ahahahaahahahahahaha! Ahaahahahahahahaha! I think I get it now! Wow, I never, in my life, could have imagined such an interesting scenario, Naruto-kun, you intrigue me to no end!" Kabuto laughed theotrically.

"Sounds like you just enjoyed a moment of revelation...?" Naruto trailed off with a questioning tone.

"Well, I guess you could say I did." Kabuto replied confidently.

"Well what are you waiting for, tell me all about it, please, I'm very interested." Naruto said with amusement.

"Alright Naruto-kun, I think I get it now, why you brought me to this place. It has become obvious after everything that's been said." Kabuto said, now adopting a serious expression.

"Okay..." Naruto prompted.

"Earlier on, you expressed a desire to destroy Konoha and become Uzukage of the new Uzushiogakure no Sato. You than went on and took the liberty to explain how most of your village's clans were made up of former ninja village's of relatively small size. It is no secret that, just like you, Orochimaru-sama seeks the destruction of Konoha, and it is also no secret that Oto is one of the smaller ninja villages in the elemental nations. With all of that in mind, your reason for bringing me to this place becomes self-explanatory. You want me to persuade Orochimaru-sama to join Uzushiogakure no Sato as the clan head of the Oto clan, formerly known as Otogakure no Sato, isn't that right, Naruto-kun?" Kabuto asked retorically, already knowing that there was no other explanation for everything that had transpired thus far.

"Hmmm...interesting theory, Kabuto. You almost read my intentions accurately, which is more than I can say for most people." Naruto applauded.

"Why do you mean _almost_? What could I have possibly missed?" Kabuto asked with a little surprise.

"Well, you're right on a few accounts, yes, I do want to assimilate Oto into Uzu, and yes, I do want Oto to unite and form a clan, however, I don't want Orochimaru to be the clan head of the Oto clan, Kabuto, I want you to be the clan head of the Oto clan, and I want you to join my newly founded organisation, Akakitsune, an organisation dedicated to the complete eradication of Akatsuki and Konoha, and the ressurection of Uzu." Naruto said casually, almost as if he didn't just drop c4 bomb between himself and the medical prodigy.

"N...Nani?" Kabuto stuttered, unable to help but to choke on his own words.

"You're probably not aware of this, but I was the one that killed Sasori, however, before his death, as a reward for defeating him, Sasori gave his personal journal to me as a gift. The same personal journal that contains in depth information about his spy network and detailed profiles about each of his spies. You see, I am now running the spy organisation, in other words, I am your boss." Naruto said matter of factly.

"You...you killed Sasori, on y-your own?" Kabuto stuttered out.

"You're starting to sound like Hinata, haha, but anyway yes, I singlehandedly killed Akasuna no Sasori." Naruto answered with a dead serious expression.

"Now I'm aware that you intended to betray Sasori and partner with Orochimaru in order to eliminate him. However, I am willing to verlook that niggling little detail if you co-operate with me. You see, Kabuto, I am very interested in Orochimaru's scientific and ninjutsu research, and I doubt he would willingly share his secrets with me. So this is how it is going to go, when we leave this mindscape, I will proceed to do battle with Orochimaru, the end result which will be Orochimaru's demise. You, on the other hand will be left to do battle with Orochimaru's research experiment, Yamato, Tsunade's apprentice who has mastered Tsunade's super strength technique, Sakura, and Danzo's student, Sai..." Naruto said, taking a short pause to allow the information to sink in before taking off where he left off.

"Now, defeating all three of them will be a difficult task even for you. There is also the matter of Hatake Kakashi. Jiraiya and Tsunade once said that you were at the same level as he is, but Kakashi has become even stronger, and he has three decent partners against you on your own. Fighting four of them on your own would amount to suicide on your part, so this is what you'll do..."

"Wait a minute! Why are you talking as if I'll have to fight Kakashi, and why are you talking as if I'm on your side?" Kabuto exclaimed with uncharacteristic panic and hysteria.

"In Konoha, we were told that Hatake Kakashi's injuries were too severe for him to accompany us on this mission. It was said that it would take another two weeks for him to recover, and therefore Yamato-taicho was assigned to team 7. However, that was a lie, I know this because I am a sensor type shinobi, and a powerful one at that. Hatake Kakashi has been trailing behind us since we left the village, I was able to sense his presence from the second we left the village. This is not an uncommon tactic in the A.N.B.U, where a team will have one of it's members lagging behind so that he can bail them out in a tight situation or help them escape if they are caught in the enemy's trap." Naruto explained clearly and carefully.

"As for you being on my side, I don't think you have much of a choice but to listen to me for the meantime, like I said before, while I fight Orochimaru, you will be faced by two jonin level shinobi, one elite jonin, and with the possibility of another elite jonin, Hatake Kakashi joining the frey as well. It is a situation I don't think you can come out on top of, or am I wrong?" Naruto asked with a quirked eyebrow.

"..."

"Exactly. Now listen to my plan, you will fight them only briefly and than quickly escape and retreat. You will go back to Orochimaru's base, where I am sure Sasuke is waiting right now. Once there, the two of you will take on the four of them together and kill all of them. If I know Sasuke as well as I think I think I do, than he will without a shadow of a doubt have become a lot stronger over the past three years. The two of you should be able to take care of business." Naruto said, waiting patiently to hear Kabuto's response to his idea.

"..."

"..."

"Well?" Naruto prompted.

"You said that Kakashi has gotten stronger over the last three years, what did you mean by that?" Kabuto asked curiously, finally able to calm himself enough to think rationally again.

"Kakashi has somehow awakened the mangyeko sharingan. His eye has a mid to long range space time technique known only by the name, Kamui. The technique opens up a vortex that sucks in anything that he successfully aims at and traps it into another dimension. If he hits you properly, he can seal your whole body in this other dimension, if he only misses slightly, he can take a limb away, or even your head, so you have to be very carefull." Naruto warned with a grave undertone.

"You can't expect me to believe that rubbish, how can a non-uchiha awaken the mangyeko sharingan?" Kabuto asked incredulously.

"Whether you believe it or not will not change the reality, if you value your life, you will take precautions regardless of whether you believe me or not. Space-time ninjutsu and speed are the best counters for this jutsu, otherwise you could just make sure you move around and attack him from his blind spots. He needs to have his eye trained on you to hit you with the jutsu and his aim is not paricularly that good right now. Also, because of the amount of chakra it takes out of him and the damage sustained to his body, he prefers to only use this jutsu as a last resort, because he knows that he'll be left vulnerable if he misses the target." Naruto explained in great detail.

_'I can't come up with a logical reason why he would possibly lie about something like this, but this is unbelievable, Hatake Kakashi, an non-Uchiha, has awakened a mangyeko sharingan?' _Kabuto thought in disbelief.

"Okay, I might not have any other choice right now but to follow your plan, but what makes you think that Sasuke will aid me in this battle? Sasuke doesn't care about anything that isn't related to killing Itachi, it would take some serious coercing to get him to help, something that I don't quite think I have time for right now."

"Don't be ridiculous. The real reason that Tsunade approved this mission and assigned it to this particular team is because of the possibility of retrieving Sasuke. All you would have to do is make sure that you are right next to him when the others catch up to you, and the rest would take care of itself." Naruto rebuked with certainty.

"If that is the case, than what is the point of me fighting alongside Sasuke? Think about it, I would become almost unimportant to them as soon as they came within eye site of him, why should I risk my life fighting them when I can divert their attentions to him and make my escape?" Kabuto asked with a big, invisible question mark on his forehead, causing Naruto to release an audible sigh in exasperation.

"What...?" Kabuto asked curiously and somewhat defensively, almost as if to try and justify his cowardly actions, or rather, planned actions.

"Well, to be honest, I didn't think you would so willingly lose faith and betray Orochimaru. I thougt that, since Sasuke is Orochimaru's prized next body, that you would want to protect him as much as you can. On the flip side, I knew that Sasuke would never run away and would choose to confront team seven. I planned to keep you together until I arrive to help you out," Naruto explained.

"Why would I protect Sasuke if you're going to kill Orochimaru-sama anyway?" Kabuto asked with a confused expression.

"Hn, I thought that maybe you would try to play your hand until the last possible moment. Can you imagine what would happen if you lead team 7 to Sasuke and than abandoned him, only for me to lose to Orochimaru? What do you think Orochimaru would do to you then?" Naruto asked with a raised eyebrow, causing Kabuto's eyes to widen with realisation.

_'He has a point? If I stick with Sasuke and fight team seven together with him, than, if we can't kill them ourselves, we would still only have to hold them of until Naruto-kun arrives to help us finish the job, however, even if Naruto-kun lost, than the same game-plan would prove to be just as effective, Orochimaru-sama would have no idea that I planned to side with Naruto-kun. He would simply assume that I planned to eliminate team seven with Sasuke's aid, and he would join us and help us destroy them. I would be safe whichever scenario panned out.' _Kabuto thought analytically.

"I don't understand? Why would you set things up this way? It almost sounds like you're...like you're..."

"Like I'm protecting you and your interests?" Naruto asked retorically.

"Yes...but why?" Kabuto asked with a deep frown, slightly frustrated by his inability to accurately read the blonde jinchuuriki's thoughts and intentions.

"Hn, I guess it's about time you and I had that heart to heart conversation isn't it...?" Naruto trailed off nostalgically, walking past the white haired medic, who didn't even so much as move an inch of a muscle, and seating himself on the edge of the cliff with his legs dangling over the edge.

"By now you should have already figured out that I'm not going to attack you, so don't be so weary, come and have a seat next to me, you and I have a lot to talk about." Naruto said almost as if talking to a wounded animal, or a frieghtened child, patting the space 30 centimetres to his right side as a signal of invitation for the white haired medic to join him.

"Hehehe! I guess I don't have much of choice now do I, Naruto-kun?" Kabuto asked sarcastically, walking slowly towards the blonde Uzumaki with the trademark push-up of the glasses before seating himself a small distance next to the blonde, the two teenagers looking over the beautiful city together in a site that made it look as if they had known each other for a long time, like they were just two friends enjoying the wonderful vision that was Uzushiogakure no Sato.

"Our bodies in the real world, we've been in here for quite a while now? Don't you think it will look strange to the others if we're just standing there staring at each other for this long?" Kabuto asked curiously.

"We haven't even been here for even an hour. Time, in one's mind, doesn't flow the same way as it does in the real world, we could spend a whole five hours here and only a quarter of a second would have passed in the real world. So don't worry about what's happening in the real world, when we get back up there, it will be as if this never happened at all." Naruto replied casually.

"Heh...wow, this is a really useful technique isn't it? Do you think the other jinchuuriki have mastered mindscape manipulation to this extent?" the white haired medic asked with unrestrainable curiosity and thirst for knowledge.

"Probably not, some might have never even thought of this is an ability that can be developed. Most jinchuuriki try to limit contact with their bijuu as much as possible." Naruto replied simply.

" I see..." was all Kabuto said in response.

"..."

"..."

"So...what is it that you wanted to talk to me about?" Kabuto asked eventually.

"I read your profile in Sasori's journal..."

"..."

"I know everything about your past, about your mother, your connections to Danzo's R.O.O.T organisation, and how Konoha betrayed you by trying to get you and your mother to kill each other. I also know about how Orochimaru used that information to manipulate you into joining him..."

"The same way that you're trying to do exactly that now?" Kabuto said with a deep frown, trying valiantly to contain his anger lest he do something that he might regret.

Talking about his past, especially when his mother was mentioned, always made him agitated and brought out the very worst in him, no matter how long ago it happened, it was still a topic that, beyond his rationality, drove him to the breaking point of insanity. However, if Naruto even heard him, or more specifically, the dangerous tone in his voice, than the blonde did well to hide that fact, the blonde jinchuuriki picking up where he left off in quick stride as if Kabuto didn't just threaten him.

"Before you met her, and even after you met her, you had no idea who you were, where you came from, or even where you were going. People like Danzo and the elders determined everything about your life, where you lived, who you associated with, what you were allowed to learn, and where you were aloud to go. Even though you had no identity to begin with, no one allowed you to discover anything about it on your own, nobody was willing to tell you anything about who you are or where you came from. You know, when I read your profile, I couldn't help but to think...this guy is just like me." Naruto said with a mixture of anger and sadness in his eyes, causing Kabuto's eyes to widen in surprise.

"Just like you? Give me a break! What the hell makes you think that you could possibly understand what I went through! What makes you think that you could possibly understand how I felt!" Kabuto shouted angrily.

"Humans, no matter how easy or difficult they are, tend to become conceited when they experience any kind of trauma. They experience so much pain and sadness that they think...no one else could possibly have been through what I have been through, no one could have endured the way that I have endured! We humans are very quick to put ourselves on the pedestal above everyone else because we think we are better than anyone else around us. I too used to be like this, I didn't think anyone could have been through what I had been through, I didn't believe anyone could have endured that kind of life but me, Sasuke is the same. He doesn't see the people around him nor does he even consider or acknowledge their words, all because he thinks that he has had in worse than anyone else out there. One would think that pain and struggle would humble a man, however, in many cases, pain only makes a man even more conceited, especially when he has suffered so much that he can't even sympathise with another person's pain, all because he believes that everyone elses suffering is but a drop in the ocean compared to his own." Naruto said sagely, taking a small breathe before continuing where he left off.

"Kabuto, you're not the only one that has suffered at the hands of Konoha, there are many others, myself included. When I grew up, I didn't know that I was the kyubi jinchuuriki, I didn't know where I came from or who my parents and family were, I didn't even know why everyone in the village hated me so much. I had no idea who I was, what I was doing in this world, and what I was meant to do in this world. Just like you, I had no identity and no control over my own life. Every decision was made for me, where I lived, where I was allowed to go, what I was allowed to know, what I was allowed to learn, and even when I was allowed to attended the shinobi academy. Just like you, I had no idea who I was and I had no control over my life. Kabuto, you and I are so much alike than you might think, that is why I have chosen you." Naruto said with a friendly smile.

"C-chosen me? For what?" Kabuto asked with a confused expression, an expression also filled with fear and tepidition.

"To become one of my trusted partners and comrades, to become my friend..." Naruto trailed off with sincere smile.

"Is this some kind of joke?" Kabuto deadpanned.

"Hahaha! I don't know why I'm so surprised by that response, honestly, I should have expected it from you." Naruto laughed out loud.

"So it is a joke...?" Kabuto asked with slight disappointment, disappointment that he didn't even know from where it was coming. He'd never wanted or needed friends before, why the hell would he start now of all times, with Naruto of all people.

"No, no it's not a joke Kabuto..." Naruto trailed of with a serious tone and expression.

"Listen man, I know how you feel, I think I can sort of understand you a bit. Like I said, I was once like you too. Because of my lack of identity and low status in society, I always tried to attach myself to popular and powerful people. I tried to get close to Sasuke, subconsciously because he was from a noble and popular clan, and because he was ranking at the very top in his academy grades. I also tried to attach myself to Sakura, because she was also a popular girl in class whose grades were at the very top of the class. She was ranked as the best kunoichi in our class at the time. Despite his lies and manipulations, I adopted the sandaime Hokage, another powerful, respected, and popular person, as a granfather figure and always tried to be seen and associated with him. Those who, like me, were not popular, respected, smart, or anywhere on the higher scales of society were paid little to no attention." Naruto explained

"Not that your story isn't interesting,, but what has any of this got to do with me?" Kabuto asked dismissively.

"You really don't see how this is related to you? Kabuto, you're exactly the same way that I was back than. Back than, deep down in my heart, I knew that Sarutobi Hiruzen couldn't just be the kind old man that took pity on an persecuted orphan. I knew he was lying about alot of things, and I knew he was manipulatingd me. But I never said anything, I pushed all those feelings of doubt deep down into my heart because I was afraid of facing the truth. I was afraid of facing myself all alone without being associated with him. I latched onto him and tried to emulate him by becoming Hokage because I had no sense of my own identity. Your relationship with Orochimaru is no different. Orchimaru has done what has been done to you in Konoha, and even worse, to many children who were just like you. You can't tell me that something like that didn't hit a nerve on you, however, you were afraid to defy Orochimaru and simply went with the flow because you were scared you would lose your status if you were no longer associated with him. You always carry out his will, always make sure that you are seen with him, and you even try to emulate him, all because of his power and the protection and status that power affords you. You have burried your won conscience deep down in your heart because you're afraid of your real self, you're afraid that your real self will amount to nothing without Orochimaru next to you, in exactly the same way I was with the Sandaime Hokage." Naruto explained much to Kabuto's surprise, the white haired jonin trying valiantly to rebuke the blonde Uzumaki's words but unable to do so successfully, the blonde Uzumaki's words hitting too close to home for comfort.

"Three years ago, you and I fought near Tanzuki town, do you remember what you told me during that battle, Kabuto?" Naruto asked retorically, breaking the white haired medic out his trip down memory lane, the medical prodigy bombarded by memories of his childhood, and especially memories of his surrogate mother, wondering what his mother would think of him if she saw him right now, if she saw what he had become despite her best wishes.

"W-what did I say?" Kabuto asked hysterically.

"You said that I was not worthy of neither yours or Orochimaru's interest, that I was a talentless idiot that would never amount to anything as a shinobi, unlike Sasuke-kun. Those were your exact words, Kabuto. That's why I said that I used to be just like you. I never took notice of those people that didn't particularly stand out and was very quick to dismiss them as unworthy of my efforts and attention, in the exact same way that you told me off in favor of Uchiha Sasuke. You wanted to associate yourself with him and even gave him praise, but you were very quick to dismiss me, me who, in your eyes, was a person of low status in society and didn't have a particularly stand out talent. Our background from the beginning, our personalities, and our experiences of pain, all three of these things make us similar to each other. That is why I believe that you and I could come to understand one another, that is why I believe that you and I can become good friends. Friends in high places stick together and help one another to get richer and stronger, why is it that we, the outcasts, the ones who really need each other's help, always ignore one another, why is it that we are so willing to trample over each other to get to the top. Wouldn't we all be better off if we helped each other out?" Naruto asked retorically.

"I founded Uzushiogakure with this goal in mind. I want Uzu to be a place where the outcasts of this world can find peace and solace, where they can find love, respect and exceptance. I want Uzu to become a sanctuary to those that have been hard done by the cruelty of the world. Also, I want to be able to face my mother when I am reunited with her in the afterlife, I want her to be proud of me and what I have done for our home and my people. And I also want to protect those who have suffered with no family name, riches, or history to protect them, those who have been cast aside like dirt, those are the people that I want to help and protect the most." Naruto said with a determined expression, so much resolve and determination that Kabuto almost thought that it was tangible, that he could reach out and grab it by the palm of his hand.

"Kabuto, if you were to continue on this path that you are walking now, do you think that you would be able to look your mother, the one who gave you those glasses so that you could see a brighter future, in the eye?" the blonde Uzumaki asked.

"..."

"..."

"No...I wouldn't be able to face her, how could I possibly face her, when I'm the one who killed her?" Kabuto asked thought out loud.

"I didn't kill my mother, but she died to protect me from the demon fox. I also felt guilty about that, but when I met her, she didn't even care about that. She was just so happy to see me, so happy to hold me in her arms, I couldn't believe it. She told me that she would give up her life over and over again if it meant that she could protect me, she didn't hold a grudge against me..."

"Wait a minute! What the hell are you talking about? How did you meet your mother? I thought Uzumaki Kushina died when the fox attacked Konoha fifteen years ago. kabuto asked incredulously.

"Namikaze Minato, my father, didn't just seal the demon fox inside of me. He also sealed some of his and my mother's chakra and conscience inside of me so that they could see me one more time in the future. I met my mother inside my mindscape when I tried to take control of the fox's power." Naruto explained.

"I...I see." a shell shocked Kabuto replied simply.

_'I suppose it's possible. Namikaze Minato was a once in a lifetime genius after all.' _Kabuto thought.

"In any case, I don't think your mother would hold a grudge against you for what happened. I think that, if you tried your best to be the best person and shinobi that you can be, that she would be proud to call you her son. At the very least, I don't think that you should have such little faith in her love for you, if you really want her to believe in you, than you should also believe in her, and her love for you." Naruto said with conviction.

"You really think so, you really think that would work?" Kabuto asked with a scrutinixing expression, trying to find even the smallest hint of deception in the blonde Uzumaki's voice and expression.

"I won't lie to you, I don't know for sure if it will work. But, that's how I see the situation, if it was me, I would try to do the best that I can and hope for the best for our reunion. It certainly beats spitting on her sacrifice and dragging her name on the mud. I would try to treat others in similar situations to mine the same way that she treated me." Naruto said bluntly, the blonde Uzumaki not mincing his words at all even though he knew just how close to home they would hit Kabuto, or rather, because he knew how close to home they would hit.

_'Mother...you took pity on me and helped me in my greatest time of need, but I have failed to carry your will even though I have been placed in a perfect position to help countless others like me. Instead, I...I have done even worse to them than was done to me. Mother, please forgive me! I...I will atone for my sins, I promise to change and become a better person, please...please forgive me!' _Kabuto pleaded mentally, a lone tear falling down the right side of his face as his heart contorted and twisted painfully, a heart filled with regrets and remorse for his past sins.

"Okay Naruto, you've made your point. I get it, I think I really get it now. However, don't expect me to forgive Konoha for what they did to me and my mother, that is something that will never happen...ever!" Kabuto said with a grave undertone.

_'Hehehe! That's just what I wanted to hear, Kabuto.' _Naruto thought maliciously.

"That suits me just fine, I have no intention of allowing Konoha to get away with what they have done either." Naruto replied with a sinister smirk.

"Okay, I just wanted to get that out of the way. In any case, your offer for me to join your organisation, Akakistune, and also Uzushiogakure no Sato as the clan head of the Oto clan, I accept it. I want to make a fresh start, and I want to attone for my sins against the Oto clan and my mother's memory. But I'm not quite sure how I'm gonna do that, I don't think I have enough power right now to protect anyone, nor do I have the power to take on the Akatsuki. You've become much stronger over the last two and a half years, you were even able to defeat Sasori no dana. Do you...do you have any ideas to share with me...please?" Kabuto asked with a surprisingly humbled and subdued tone.

"You really want to do this, it isn't going to be an easy road you know?" Naruto asked.

"I'm sure!" Kabuto exclaimed with conviction.

"Okay, I believe you." Naruto replied neutrally.

"..."

"..."

"I could use that idea right about now..." Kabuto said with an intense glare.

"Oh...right, the idea, hehe!" a slightly startled Naruto exclaimed, scratching the back of his head with a sheepish smile.

"Well...do you have it or not?" Kabuto asked impatiently, causing the blonde Uzumaki to once again adopt a serious expression and tone.

"Well, you tell me, Kabuto. You're the one with all the access to Orochimaru's scientific and ninjutsu research, are you trying to tell me that you couldn't find something to help you get stronger with complete access to that kind of information?" Naruto asked retorically, causing Kabuto's eyes to widen in surprise and realisation for the figurative millionth time today.

"I can't believe I didn't think about that." Kabuto said with an audible sigh of exasperation.

"You have alot to think about now, and you have an identity and reputation of your own to forge. Don't be too hard on yourself my friend." Naruto said with a comforting hand on the white haired medic's shoulder.

"Friends huh...does this make us friends now?" Kabuto asked with a dazed expression, never having imagined that he would one day find himself in a situation like this, one where he would willingly and genuinely call someone by the word, 'friend'.

"Yes, I believe this is the beginning of a great and everlasting friendship." Naruto replied with a small smile.

"That sounds good to me..." Kabuto trailed off nostalgically.

_'Mother, are you watching? I just made my first friend, what do you think about him, do you think that he will make a good friend? Do you think that I have made the correct decision?' _The white medical prodigy pondered wisfully.

"So anyway, who are the other members of Akakistune?" Kabuto asked curiously.

"Right now, there are only five of us that I have met, that is me, Hyuga Neji, the nanabi jinchuuriki, Fu, the Kurama clan heiress, Yakumo, and you." Naruto answered honestly.

"That's a powerful group of people, but are you sure it is enough to take on an organisation as big and resourceful as Akatsuki?" Kabuto asked skeptically.

"Akatsuki works in two men cells, so it doesn't really matter how many people they have, as long as we don't fight them altogether at the same time. Also, there are two other members that I haven't met yet. They were recruited by Fu herself, she won't tell me who they are though, apparently, it's supposed to be some kind of surprise." Naruto laughed fondly.

"Are you romantically involved with her, Naruto-kun?" Kabuto asked with a devious smirk and the trade mark push-up of the glasses.

"Hehe! Is it really that obvious?"

"You have no idea." Kabuto said, laughing amusedly at the blonde Uzumaki's expense.

"Damn, I should work a little harder on my emotional control." Naruto thought with equal amusement.

"Perhaps that wouldn't be such a bad idea, but anyway, on a more serious note, I think that I could recruite more members for the organisation. There are a few people I can think of off of the top of my head, Uchiha Sasuke included." Kabuto suggested charismatically.

"Hn, I was actually thinking about asking you to do something like that for me. It's a good idea Kabuto, and you have my blessing to use your own discretion in your choice of members..." Naruto trailed off.

"But...?" Kabuto asked perceptively.

"Uchiha Sasuke cannot be one of those recruits. I don't think I could ever trust someone like him, it also doesn't help that he is an Uchiha." Naruto answered with blunt honesty.

"I don't understand? I thought that him being an Uchiha would have been a good thing, with the power of the sharingan and all." Kabuto asked with a small frown.

"Kurama doesn't want to be in anyway whatsoever associated with an Uchiha. He doesn't them and has even tried to persuade me to kill Sasuke. Part of our agreement was that I would eradicate the Uchiha clan in exchange for his co-operation and free use of his chakra." Naruto explained.

"So, basically what you're saying is that Kurama is the kyubi's name, and that associating yourself with any member of the Uchiha clan would be tentamount to a breach of contract, or a betrayal?" Kabuto asked retotically.

"Yes, that is exactly what I am saying." Naruto replied.

"Okay, so what am I supposed to do with him then?"

"Let him go. I owe him for sparing my life three years ago, he could have easily killed me but allowed to live for whatever reason. In return, I will give him his freedom from Orochimaru and allow him to keep his life for now. Besides, his goal is to kill Itachi, who just so happens to be an enemy of mine and Akakistune. The best case scenario would be that they end up killing each other. Nevertheless, the world will soon have one less Uchiha left without me having to lift a single finger. That will work out just fine for me." Naruto replied with a confident smile.

"Hehe! You are one interesting individual, Naruto-kun." Kabuto said with an amused and intrigued smile on his face.

"So I've heard." Naruto replied with equal amusement.

"..."

"..."

"So anyway, I would appreciate it if you would explain to me, step by step, how we are supposed to proceed from here on out." Kabuto requested politely.

"Well, you will do as we discussed earlier, draw team seven to your base in Kusa and ambush them alongside Sasuke. The two of you will kill them if you can or hold them off until I arrive of you can't, where we will proceed to dispose of all of them..."

"Okay, I got everything up until that part, it is what follows after that I want to know about." Kabuto interupted.

"I will place a reverse summoning seal on you that will enable you to summon yourself to this cliff that we are standing on right now...in the real world of course, not in my mindscape..."

"I know that." Kabuto said indignantly.

"Haha! I know, I'm just playing with you. Anyway, there are four artificial islands around Uzushiogakure situated in the four cardinal points. These islands are actually secret science and research facilities that we have designed to look like rgular islands, but actually have state of the art research facilities that expand many kilometres squared under the ground. You will be in charge of these research facilities, in other words, you will be the Chief Executive of the Uzu Science and Research facility. I want you to collect all of Orochimaru's work that will be useful to us and transfer it to Uzu. I also want you to use everything you can from Orochimaru's ninjutsu research to enhance your powers and become stronger so that we can take on the Akatsuki, and so that you can have the power to protect Uzushiogakure and the Oto clan. You will also be transporting the Oto clan to Uzu along with the research that you have harnessed from Orochimaru, I will send a message to Fu and make sure she prepares for yours and the Oto clan's arrival. You will also get the liberty to choose any of the unocuppied clan compounds. When all is set and done, and you have completed your training and recruiting of members for Akakitsune, I want you to send a message to me in Konoha. That is when Akakistsune will become an official and active organisation, that is when I, Neji, Yakumo, and the Branch Hyuga family will escape Konoha unnoticed." Naruto explained precisely and concisely.

"You've really given this alot of thought haven't you?" Kabuto asked retorically.

"Of course, I wouldn't be much of a leader if I didn't." Naruto replied with a cocky smirk.

"I see." Kabuto said simply, a comfortable silence settling between the two new friends as they trained their eyes over the 'fake' Uzu,

"..."

"..."

"We should go back now and execute the plan, are you ready?" Naruto said.

"Hai, lets go!" Kabuto said with a renewed determination and resolve

**End Chapter**

**For all those who were expecting the Oro vs Naru battle, I'm sorry. I was actually planning to have this battle in this chapter, and than show this in the next chapter as a flashback of what happened between Naruto and Kabuto in that split second of eye contact.**

**But I really really really hate writting flashbacks, hell , it just makes me feel like I'm not making any progress, like I'm going backwards instead of forward in terms of story progression. **

**So I just thought I would pospone the Naru/Oro battle to the next chapter and do the interaction in this one. Sorry yeah**

**.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto or any other series that I might use for inspiration

**Chapter 5**

_**Orochimaru's Power**_

**"Our main goal is to retrieve Sasuke, if you just tell us where he is, there'll be no need for me to kill you..." **Naruto said with a deep and demonic voice, a voice that sounded pretty much like a drawn out and beastly growl.

Of course, Naruto had no real intention of letting Orochimaru live, his whole plan involving Kabuto hinged on whether he could kill this man or not. As far as Naruto was concerned, this was just small talk between two enemy shinobi, nothing more and nothing less.

_**'Naruto, why aren't you using that ability of yours to adapt my chakra to yours? You know that using my chakra raw like this is harmful to your body.' **_The nine tailed demon fox, Kurama, asked.

_"We have to keep up apearances for now. Your chakra is known particularly for its malicious and corrosive nature, and that's what the others have to witness when I use it. Besides, I'm an Uzumaki with the ultimate medical ninjutsu, this is nothing to me." _Naruto replied.

_**"I'm losing my patience Naruto...! I am the nine tailed demon fox, snooping around like a little rat isn't my cup of tea, neither should it be yours as my container!" **_Kurama said irritably.

_'And that's exactly why humans have been able to suppress and control you throughout the ages. You have to understand that power alone is no longer enough in this day and age, it takes a lot more than just raw power to defeat a smart enemy, you have to complement that power with a brilliant mind and careful planning. Having said that, however, it shouldn't be too long before we leave Konoha, the need to keep up appearances will vanish at that time and we will strike the world with our full power!" _Naruto replied passionately.

_**"Rrrrrrr...!" **_Kurama growled, however, the fox choosing to say nothing more on the matter, ending the conversation almost instantly.

He'd be lying if he said that his ego wasn't wounded, but what could he say against the blonde Uzumaki's blunt honesty when his whole life was a testimony to the blonde's words. Kurama had power in abundance, easily the most powerful being residing in this world, however, on more than one ocassion, he'd been defeated by mere humans and used as either a prisoner or a military weapon. The shodaime hokage, Hashirama, had even dared to use him as a pet.

Power alone was not enough to rule the world, he knew that more than anyone else, perhaps...perhaps that was why he was easily ready to entrust his power and his will to the blonde haired Uzumaki. Hashirama, Madara, Mito, Kushina, not one of them had ever treated him as a person with feelings, goals, dreams, and ambitions, all of them had imposed their position of authority over him and used him for whatever it is that they please. Naruto, on the other hand was the only one that even asked him if he had a name, Naruto was the only one that wanted to know about his own goals and aspirations, the only one who tried to get to know him. Naruto didn't treat him like a pet, weapon, or prisoner, Naruto treated him as a partner...as a friend even. This was why Kurama was willing to listen to his opinions, to contemplate them, and to support his ideas when they were good, and they were always good.

_**'Naruto, I hope you know what you're doing...' **_The fox thought wearily. His thoughts, however, were sliced through the middle by that wretching voice of the snake sannin, the serpent-like figure trying to aggravate the blonde Uzumaki even more than he thought Naruto was.

"Oh come on now child, I'd have thought you'd be over Sasuke-kun by now. Whatever relationship you might have had with Sasuke-kun no longer exists, Sasuke-kun is mine now, kukukukuku!" Orochimaru laughed maniacly.

**"I tried to warn you, remember that when I re-introduce you to the shinigami." **Naruto growled out with a sinister undertone, causing the serpent sannin to frown with anger and frustration at the blonde's low blow at his ego, the memory of the last time he had contact with the shinigami still fresh and vivid in his mind apparently, just as Naruto would have wanted.

"I was willing to entertain you, thereby allowing you to enjoy a few more seconds, perhaps even minutes, of your wretched life, however, in a single second, you have gone from mildly amusing to boring and irritating. You're a small itch, but even a small itch has to be scratched off lest it distract you from the more pressing matters in life." Orochimaru said with a threatening undertone, his killing intent spiking up exponentially as his murdering intincts came into the fold.

However, this didn't even faze Naruto, who was croached down, standing on all four of his limbs with blood red, animalistic pupils that have a black slit in the middle, elongated canines and nails, with his whisker markings seemingly lengthening and becoming deeper and darker. His whole body was covered in a red cloak of chakra with fox ears and three tails protruding at the back of the cloak, the chakra so dense and malicious that the whole bridge started rattling violently, threating to fall apart and send them all crashing to the river below at any second now.

_'T-this chakra, is this what Naruto is like when he uses that power? T-this feeling, it feels even more powerful and evil than Gaara-kun at the chuunin exams three years ago. I-is this really Naruto?' _A shell-shocked and fearful Sakura thought worriedly.

_'So this is Naruto's power...? No, rather, this is the Kyubi's power in Naruto. I wonder if this is how he defeated Sasori?' _Sai thought with his usual lack of emotion.

"N-Naruto...!"

**"I know now why you were chosen to fill in for Kakashi-sensei, Yamato-taichou. However, your services will not be needed here, I am in complete control of myself and I will not lose that control. I know what I'm doing." **Naruto cut in before Yamato could reprimand him.

"Are you sure about that?" Yamato asked wearily.

**"On a scale of one to ten? I'd give it a ten and a half. Is that good enough for you?" **Naruto asked retorically.

"O-okay, that's good enough I guess." Yamato said reluctantly.

_'The Kyubi's chakra is so potent, how is his body not buckling under such an intense pressure?' _an amazed and somewhat concerned Tenzo thought to himself.

**"Good. Now remember, no matter what you see, or what form I take from here on out, I'll be in control. The rest of you must focus on Kabuto and leave Orochimaru to me. Remember, the mission comes first before everything else!" **Naruto said with conviction and determination.

"That's right, we have to get Sasuke-kun back at any cost! If all we have to do is capture Kabuto, than that's exactly what we'll do!" Sakura declared loudly, fixing on her fingerless gloves as she prepared herself for a reunion with her dream man, and for the battle, or battles ahead of course.

"Hn, kids! Always ever-so willing to shout out and declare their dreams for everyone to hear as if everything comes easily. Oh well, I guess you'll have to learn your lesson the hard way." Kabuto said with a trademark pushi-up of the glasses, his glasses gleaming in the sunlight in a manner that made him seem like the devil incarnate, especially with that cocky and sinister smile plastered on his facial features.

"I'm not afraid of you anymore, I've become a lot stronger over the last three years." Sakura declared confidently.

"Indeed you have, I would expect nothing less of Tsunade's apprentice. You know, not even Shizune was able to master Tsunade's super strength technique, I'm really surprised that someone like you was able to achieve that feat. However, a jutsu is a weapon at a shinobi's disposal, and a weapon is only as strong as it's wielder. Knowing Tsunade's prized technique doesn't automatically mean that you have reached her level, nor does it mean that you can defeat me. After all...not even she was able to defeat me three years ago, in fact, if it wasn't for Naruto-kun, she wouldn't be alive right now." Kabuto said with a devilish smirk.

_'Heh, Kabuto and his psychological warfare, that is perhaps one of his greater abilities in the field of battle.' _Naruto thought amusedly, remembering just how devastating Kabuto could be with words alone in battle, having been at the receiving end of Kabuto's verbal assault himself almost three years ago.

"N-no way, you're lying, Tsunade-sama would never lose to someone like you!" Sakura argued vigorously.

"Really...? Oh well, I don't really care whether you believe me or not. But a word of caution for you, don't think that the rest of the world has been standing still while you were training with Tsunade, you're not the only one that has become stronger over the last three years. For all you know, the gap between our powers may have not regressed at all." Kabuto taunted with an amused expression.

"Don't let him get to you Sakura, psychological warfare is Orochimaru and Kabuto's forte, if you're not careful, they can eat your soul up and kill you with words alone...you have to believe in yourself and your comrades." Yamato said sternly.

"H-Hai! Yamato taichou, and thank you. I promise I won't let you down!" Sakura said with renewed vigour and conviction.

_'She was on the brink of falling apart, she would have if it wasn't for this Yamato.' _Kabuto thought irritably.

"I know, you're Hokage-sama's apprentice after all. However, the more pressing issue is...how did Kabuto know that you were Lady Hokage's apprentice? And more importantly, how does he know that you've mastered her super strength technique?" Yamato asked out loud, posing the question not at himself, not at Sakura, but at anyone on the bridge who was willing to provide the answers.

"You know, he seems to have quite a point, Kabuto, and why is it that this information was not delivered to me if you knew all along?" Orochimaru asked with narrowed eyes.

"Aaaah well you know, it's for the same reason you never told me about Yamato or whatever it is that you call him." Kabuto replied patronizingly.

"and that reason would be...?" Orochimaru asked sternly.

"That I didn't think it was anything of importance...up until now that is." Kabuto said as he needlessly pushed his glasses up again.

"You seem to have forgotten who it is exactly that you're adressing. Perhaps I haven't been firm enough with you..." Orochimaru trailed off threateningly.

"Maybe, but you'll have to punish me later for my insurbordination, now is hardly the time for such a thing." Kabuto replied with zero percent levels of fear.

He knew that Orochimaru wouldn't kill him, he was simply invaluable to the serpent sannin, and he wasn't afraid of whatever punishment Orochimaru might devise for him, there was almost nothing Orochimaru could do to him that his yin healing wound destruction method wouldn't reginerate, and he was sure that he could endure the pain that came with the punishment. Of course, the high possibility that Orochimaru wouldn't live long enough to deliver such a punishment was an added bonus.

"Naruto, I think now would be the time for you to make your move. We need to seperate Orochimaru from Kabuto in order to capture him." Yamato suggested.

"Kukukuku! Are you foolish enough to take me on all alone child, do you really...gwah!" Orochimaru cried out, cutting himself out before he could finish what he wanted to say as he was painfully interupted from his monologue by the blonde Uzumaki's assault.

There was a very loud snapping sound coming from the snake sannin's neck when Naruto's clawed hand connected to his head, the blonde Uzumaki moving at unreadable speed to cover the distance between himself and Orochimaru and clawing at Orochimaru's face with insane brute force, sending Orochimaru flying away from the bridge and deep into the surrounding forest. Many trees were knocked down before Orochimaru landed, or rather, crashed into the ground with a resounding sound, sending dust and debri flying around as his body formed a crater on the surface of the earth.

Naruto, having completely closed the distance between himself and Orochimaru, found himself standing right next to Kabuto, so close to him that the mad scientist was easily within his attack range, especially with the ability to extend and manipulate his chakra tails as if they were his own limbs. However, Naruto didn't pay much attention to Kabuto at this point, no one but Sasuke had seen him use his chakra cloak before and therefore no one knew that he had that ability, no one would know that he could have possibly captured Kabuto if he'd wanted to. Anyway, he could always use Orochimaru as a scapegoat, he imagined that no one would argue with him if he told them that Orochimaru was too dangerous for him to even think about focusing his attention on anything else but him.

Having settled that debate within his mind, the blonde Uzumaki followed Orochimaru into the woods as he disappeared from Kabuto's right hand side, once again moving at speeds unreadable to the average shinobi, or even an above average shinobi for that matter, as neither his comrades or the snake sannin himself were able to accurately follow his movements at that speed.

_'S-sugoi! What incredible speed and power! I can't believe Naruto had this much power inside of him all along, no wonder he was able to defeat Sasori.' _Sakura thought, a dose of jealousy once again settling into the pit of her core.

_'The kyubi's power...it's incredible. Danzo-sama will want to know about this, if we play our cards right, we could persuade Dickless to join the foundation. This kind of power needs to be controlled and directed acurately, it would be reckless of us to allow him to continue to roam free and recklessly any longer than he already has.' _Sai thought on the matter.

"Aaah, look at that, now it's just the four of you against little old me. You Konoha shinobi are so cowardly, ganging up on me like me like that." Kabuto taunted.

"Four against one? Perhaps you should think about getting yourself a new pair of glasses Kabuto-chan, there's only three of us here now." Sakura retaliated cheekily.

"Or perhaps your sensei could stop hiding in the bushes behind you and come and face me like...I would say like a man, but since it's four against one, well, he should come and face me like a lesser coward." Kabuto replied, barely holding himself back from breaking out into a maniac-like laughter at his own taunting words.

"What...what are you talking about? Kakashi-sensei is in Konoha, he wouldn't be able to make it here even if he wanted to, he's not in any shape to be in a place a like this. You've really lost your mind haven't you, hehe, I suppose I can't blame you, working so closely with Orochimaru for so many years would be damaging to any person's psyche." Sakura rebuked confidently.

"..." Sai chose to say nothing on the issue, he was a little disapponted that he hadn't been able to detect Kakashi's presence all this time, if indeed Kakashi was here that is. It wouldn't surprise him if Kakashi did indeed follow them here, this was standard practise really in the A.N.B.U. But it also wouldn't surprise him if Kabuto really had no idea what he was talking about, that is because it was entirely possible that Kabuto didn't know for sure that Kakashi was here, and had merely assumed he was hiding because he thought that Kakashi wouldn't let his team go to such a dangerous mission without him. Until he was absolutely sure that Kakashi was here, Sai had no intention of giving anything away.

"You really have lost your mind haven't you, Kabuto?" Yamato said with a small shake of the head.

Yamato was just pretending of course, he was the only one who was informed that Kakashi would be tailing them to the meeting location and join them later in the inevitable battle if neccessary. Kakashi was meant to be their trump card, and Yamato had no intention of changing that. He, much like Sai suspected that Kabuto wasn't sure about Kakashi's presence, after all, Kakashi was his former captain in the A.N.B.U, that's why he knew that unless Kabuto was a sensor type shinobi, which, according to their intel, he wasn't, than there was no way he would have been able to detect Kakashi presence, Kakashi was just that good.

"Hehehe! You guys are so cowardly, to think that your team leader himself is not even brave enough to face me despite the three man advantage. Oh well, I guess I'll have to force him out than." Kabuto said confidently, activating his chakra scalpel technique at the end of his monologue as he adopted his unique taijutsu fighting stance.

"Yamato-taichou, Sai, I know this would have been our first time working together, but I'm afraid I'm going to have to pospone on that one. I'll handle Kabuto by myself, you'll have to sit this one out I'm afraid." Sakura said with a determined expression.

"No way! As if I'd allow something like that. I told you before, I'm not your sensei, I'm your captain, you follow my orders or you face the consequences!" Yamato said with a deadly glare.

"You don't understand...!"

"I understand perfectly! Naruto, the former deadlast has become one of the most promising shinobi in the village, and you, the former kunoichi of the year can't handle that he has surpassed you and left you in the...watch out!" Yamato shouted, eyes wide with shock and fear, fear that was not for himself or his wellbeing, but for Sakura's life as Kabuto appeared in front of her with his chakra coated right had aimed for her jagular.

Sakura had absolutely no time to react, in fact, none of them had any chance to react to Kabuto's surprise attack, all of them, Sakura, Sai, and Yamato, having been slightly distracted by Sakura and Yamato's arguement. They had also severely underestimated the mad scientist, not anticipating that he would actually so brave as to attack them head on like he was now, and as a result, Sakura was about to pay the consequences. Sakura was frozen in place, unable to move even an inch of her muscles, even if she could, she would not have been fast enough to counter Kabuto's attack, the only thing she could do was to close her eyes and prepair for the killing blow.

_**Ching!**_

"K-Kakashi-seinsei...?" Sakura whispered with a combination of surprise, disbelief, and gratitude written all over her face.

She couldn't believe it, she couldn't believe that Kakashi was actually here. Kabuto had said as much of course, but who was going to believe a creepy, lying bastard like him. Besides, it had seemed too out of character for Kakashi to pretend he was injured only to follow them to the meeting place. But than again, was it really so out of character? Wasn't this the same guy who never told them he had a sharingan until he had absolutely no choice but to reveal it against Zabuza, even though he knew what that woud mean to Sasuke? Wasn't this also the same guy who never told anyone about his mangyeko sharingan until he was forced to use it by Naruto and later, Deidara. If Sakura knew anything about Kakashi, shouldn't she have known by now that Kakashi was the type of guy who kept everything to himself but at the same time, tried to find out about everyone elses secrets? Wasn't that the type of person who would do something like what Kabuto had implied he was doing earlier, like he'd just been proven to have been doing? Nevertheless, that didn't stop her from being greatful that he had done what he did, because in the end, it had given her at the very least a few more minutes to live, a few more minutes to redeem herself.

"Hatake Kakashi, you finally abandoned your cowardly ways, although, given that you chose to stream your raikiri through a kunai rather than your hand to stop my chakra scalpel, I wouldn't jump the gun and call you a brave soul. Clearly you weren't confident that your jutsu would meet the grade required to block my attack and used a kunai instead to protect your hand." Kabuto taunted jovially.

"..."

"Oh well, at least I got you to stop hiding." Kabuto said with a cocky smile.

"Kabuto, if you come with us peacefully, Hokage-sama might be a little lenient on you." Kakashi said simply, completely ignoring Kabuto's attempts at gaining a psychological advantage on him, instead pressing his raiton enhanced kunai harder against Kabuto's chakra coated hand.

_'They're quite unsettled at the moment because they don't know what to expect from me, now's my chance to make a definitive move before they regain their composure.' _Kabuto thought analytically.

With that plan of action firmly settled in his mind, Kabuto launched his next assualt on the Konoha team, an attack totally out of nowhere and in fact, totally unexpected. When Kabuto had attacked Sakura, he'd attempted to execute a back handed slash with his right hand, but because Kakashi had gotten himself in front of Sakura and blocked his attack, his right hand had ended up in an angle where the four fingers were pointing at Sai, who had been standing a metre away on Sakura's right hand side.

What team 7 didn't know, or anyone for that matter, was how far Kabuto had taken the otherwise basic and non combat chakra scalpel technique to a new level altogether, a level that no one else had even dreamed of taking it. In fact, it wasn't just the chakra scalpel that Kabuto had expanded, it was his medical ninjutsu all in all. He'd already figured out a way to use the mystical palm technique at mid-range, able to extend the chakra over a distance of seven metres and therfore heal somone who wasn't at touching distance with him. The same principle applied to his chakra scalpel technique, although a bit harder to execute, he'd been able to manage and master it at a level where it just felt natural to him. That's why it was so easy for him to stab Danzo's young protege even at that distance, especially with Kakashi lightning enhanced kunai so kindly helping him to fix his aim for the boy's chest cavity.

"Gwah...!" Sai cried out in shock, spitting a significant glob of blood out of his mouth with eyes wide from pain and surprise.

"Sai...!"

"Stay where you are Sakura! That's exactly what he wants, he wants you to go to Sai's aid so that you can be in his line of attack!" Kakashi exclaimed, freezing Sakura completely in her tracks with his words and killing intent.

"Nice one Kakashi, you're such a quick decision maker, a cowardly decision maker, but quick nonetheless." Kabuto said with a devious smile, his extended chakra scalpel still lodged into the ink user's chest as well as warding off Kakashi's raiton enhanced kunai.

"Kakashi-sensei, why aren't you doing anything, why are you just standing there when...when this creep just fataly wounded one of our own!" Sakura cried out hysterically.

"Poor child, she doesn't understand does she?" Kabuto said with mock remorse.

"Understand...understand what?" Sakura asked with a confused expression, still standing just behind Kakashi a little to his left hand side, her head visible to Kabuto over Kakashi's shoulder.

"Well, that was a direct hit on that kid's heart, there's no way you can save him now even with your medical ninjutsu. Kakashi knows this, and so does Yamato. If it were up to them, they would have just attacked me the instant that they saw what I did to the poor boy. However, if they do attack me and force me to move, I can't control what mmy hand will do, it might move to the right, it might move to the left, up, or down, it could move in any direction as I try to fend off their assualt. That boy is still alive, if I move, the chakra scalpel in his chest will move as well, causing more pain an anguish to the boy, I might even end up decapitating his body if I move too much. Kakashi knows that he should shut off his emotions and focus on the mission, but he doesn't want his precious student, you, to witness that side of him, nor does Yamato want you to see such a horrible scene at such a young age. They're both protecting your fragile and innocent little heart...in a way, despite your apprenticeship to the Godaime Hokage, you're still nothing but a screw up that's holding everyone back. Face the facts kid, you're not cut out to be a shinobi." Kabuto said with a cruel smile, the light reflecting off of his glasses enhancing the 'devil incarnate' image he was going for even further than it would have been.

"N-no way, t-that's not true, i-it can't be! Kakashi-sensei...?" Sakura cried, tears now falling rapidly from her eyes, the pink haired kunoichi now on the brink of a nervous breakdown.

"Kakashi-sensei, tell me the truth, is is true? Is Kabuto speaking the truth?" Sakura asked hysterically, causing Kakashi to close his normal eye in sorrow, not making the mistake however of closing his sharingan with an opportunist like Kabuto standing right in front of him.

"No Sakura...it's not true, you're not holding us back at all..." Kakashi trailed off with a grave undertone, the copy nin throwing all sentimentals out of the window and shutting off his emotions as he continued with an assault on Kabuto, knocking Kabuto's chakra cloaked hand upwards in order to open Kabuto's guard and make his body available for fatal assualt.

The effect of Kakashi's manuevre was the blood and gore coming from Sai's body as Kabuto's scalpel bisected the emotionless teenager, cutting him up from chest to top of the head in an instant, sending the brain matter and other organs flying around, some of it landing on him and and some of it landing on Sakura even. But Kakashi didn't pay any attention to that, activating the raikiri and aiming directly for Kabuto's heart.

Kabuto, faced with the possibility of death, pulled off another medical ninjutsu miracle, activating a chakra scalpel on his feet of all places and forcing Kakashi to abandon his attack or risk losing his ability to ever walk again as Kabuto attempted to put a whole new meaning to sweeping a persons legs right from under their body.

Kakashi was fast to react, jumping high up into the air to avoid losing any of his legs. He was quite horrified when he found out just who exactly was the real intended target of Kabuto's attack, the scalpel on Kabuto's right leg, like it had done on his right hand, lengthening rapidly in length as he attempted to take out not only Sakura's, but also Yamato's legs out at the same time, taking another idiom to another level as he put a new meaning to hitting two birds with one stone.

"Sakura, Yamato, watch out!" Kakashi cried out helplessly.

Luckily, for Kakashi and Sakura's sake, Yamato was very quick to react, thanks to the fact that he'd been watching the whole thing transpire from a clear view on the side, the mokuton user creating a long extention of wood from his palm and using it to knock Sakura off of the bridge as he also jumped high and away from the bridge altogether, it wasn't safe to be stading there right now after all.

_'Hn, nice, move, however...' _Kabuto trailed off, quickly righting himself and pointing his hands at Kakashi and Sakura, who were both in mid-air, leaving themselves almost completely defenseless.

**"Sound Vibration Style: Flying Chakra Scalpel!" **Kabuto whispered harshly, now using chakra scalpels as projectiles at Kakashi, Sakura, and than Yamato in quick succession, another medical ninjutsu innovation of his own design and creation.

_'This is the revolution of medical ninjutsu, the ability to utilize medical ninjutsu at mid and long range is an ability unique only to me thanks to Otogakure's sound manipulation secret jutsu. I use sound vibration manipulation to create chakra vibrations that maintain the form of the scalpal and keep the chakra concentrated together, preventing the chakra from dispersing and colapsing the technique when it leaves my body. Than I use sound wave manipulation to expel the scalpels from my hands at high speeds and send them crashing into my opponents. Hehehe, soon, my ingenuity and power as a medical ninja will become even more well renouned than Lady Tsunade of the sannin. I'll be the man known for killing the legendary copy ninja, the second comming of Tsunade, and the second coming of the Shodaime Hokage.' _Kabuto thought as the three chakra projectiles hit home, striking each of his targets dead centre of their respective chests. However, with a puff of smoke, it was soon revealed to Kabuto that what he had struck was only three wooden doll like versions of his targets and not their actual human counterparts.

_'A wood substitution huh, he really is the shodaime's clone after all.' _Kabuto thought, looking over the bridge to watch as the three Konoha shinobi were sent falling towards the dangerous water tides down below.

**"Wood Release: Nativity Of A Sea Of Trees!" **Yamato shouted out, having gone through the neccessary hand seals, clasping his hands together in concentration as many trees grew out of the of the ravine rapidly, the trees extending and safely catching himself and his comradeson their way up.

_'This jutsu...this is the Shodaime Hokage's Nativity of A World Of Trees I believe, albeit on a less powerful and slower scale. Aaah...I guess he doesn't want to accidentally harm his friends, very compassionate for someone I imagine was raised in the A.N.B.U.' _ Kabuto thought, watching the trees growing and getting dangerously close to the bridge.

_'Is he going to try and destroy the bridge? Oh I see, if he destroys the bridge than I have no choice but to fight them inside that forest, a forest that he has complete control over. Nice try Yamato, but I'm not going to fall for a petty trick like that.' _Kabuto thought, running back from where he came to the other side of the bridge to escape Yamato's tree trap, making it to the other side just in time to avoid the dangerous forest as the bridge behind him was shred to pieces.

_'That was a little too close for comfort, who know's what kind of traps that guy would have had waiting for me inside that forest of his. Good thing I...' _Kabuto's thought process was broken up swiftly, the surprised Kabuto looking down in surprise as two hands, one for each leg, wrapped around both of his ankles as he found himself descending towards the ground rapidly.

**"Earth Release: Double Suicide Decapitation Technique!" **The duet of Yamato and Kakashi called out as they both pulled the mad scientist into the ground, leaving only his head on the surface of the ground.

"Okay okay okay, I give up okay, you've got me now, I surrender peacefully." Kabuto said with a casual and even almost excited demeanor.

"It's a little too late for that don't you think, Kabuto?" Kakashi said with a deadly glare.

"You killed one of our comrades, there's, there's no way we'll ever forgive you for that!" Sakura shouted as she jumped out of Yamato's forest, landing on Kakashi's right hand side with Yamato on his left.

"Aaaah but he was a member of an organisation that is officially non-existent, I can't kill someone who doesn't exist now can I, otherwise they'd have to take me to an asylum wouldn't they?" Kabuto asked with a dark smile as malice and mischief danced wildly in his eyes, his facial expression, and even in his tone.

"Y-you're sick!" Sakura said with disgust.

"Well everyone gets sick once in a while, you can't claim you've never been sick before. Aaaah you know what, that's a great idea right there Sakura, you think that if I plead mental illness they'd let me off the hook after one year in a mental insitute?" Kabuto asked curiously.

"You bastard...!"

"Don't mind him Sakura! He's just trying to get into your mind, the truth is, even he has to be scared of what's about to follow from now on, acting the way he is now is his only defense mechanism, it's a desperate attempt to keep face and to supress his fear." Yamato explained harshly.

"He's right, besides, he killed a lot of Konoha shinobi during Orochimaru's invasion three years ago and was a key member of Orochimaru's entourage. whether Sai officially exists or not, he's still going to suffer the same consequences for his past actions." Kakashi said.

_'And this is what will happen to Sasuke if we don't retrieve him before he does something he'll regret for the rest of his life.' _Kakashi thought to himself, choosing to keep such thoughts away from his fragile and volatile student. She was already under a lot of pressure as it was, he didn't want to add anymore to that than there already was, the poor girl was already close to breaking point.

"Serves him right, I hope that he rots in hell!" Sakura said with disgust.

"In any case, this is as close as we'll ever get to finding Sasuke. Sakura! I need you to administer a mind stimulating drug for the interogation, that, together with my sharingan, should be enough to get him to talk." Kakashi ordered authoratively.

"That won't be neccessary, I have a special jutsu for that. A flower that produces a special kind of pollen with drug-like properties that loosen a person's mental defenses and induces truth serum like behaviour. The good thing about it is that you don't have to get too close to the target to administer the drug. Getting close to Kabuto right now, or any other time, is not a good idea, you especially should know that by now, Sakura." Yamato said, his eyes remaining firmly trained on the dangerous traitor even when speaking to his pink haired subordinate.

"Aaah man this is bad, now my plan to kill you all at the same time won't work for sure." Kabuto said with a look of dismay.

"As if you could kill us now, have you taken a close look at yourself? You're in no position to be making any threats right now." Sakura said dismissively.

"Really now, oh well I guess you're right, there's no way that my trap will work now that I know what I know about you three, particularly you and Yamato-san over here, no offense Kakashi." Kabuto retorted.

"What do you mean? What kind of trap could you possible trigger in your condition? Don't play games with us Kabuto, you're in way over your head." Kakashi said with a threatening undertone.

"I'm not playing games, you see, have you ever heard of nature transformation?" Kabuto asked retorically.

"That's a stupid question." Kakashi deadpanned.

"Of course, you're absolutely right, it is a stupid question isn't it. But I'll tell you a little about it anyway just for the sake of convenience. You see, nature transformation is the shinobi ability to tranform ones own chakra to match one of the five natural elements, fire, wind, earth, water, and lightning. However, I'm not particularly good at nature transformation, I'm much better at shape transformation, as your dear and late friend Sai found out the hard way a few minutes ago." Kabuto said, trying hard and failing not to laugh at the expressions of his captors at the mention of their recently deceased comrade.

"So what do you do when, despite your best efforts, you're not particularly talented in nature transformation? Well, I always say just invent a new type of nature transformation. If you can't change your chakra into an element, change it into something else entirely." Kabuto explained very vaguely.

"We already know about Oto's sound manipulation. And we've already defeated your flying chakra scalplel technique. There's nothing you can do anymore that will surprise us, Kabuto. And if you think you're buying time for Orochimaru to save you, think again, Naruto is not going to allow that to happen. He defeated your former master, Sasori, and he will defeat your current master too." Yamato retorted.

"Oh I have no doubt he'll defeat Orochimaru, in fact, I can't wait for him to defeat him. I serve a new master now." Kabuto said with a crazy smile, completely catching all three of the Konoha contingent off guard.

"Nonsense! Don't listen to him, he's wasted enough of our time as it is. Yamato, do it now!" Kakashi instructed.

"Wait...!" Kabuto said out loud, stopping Yamato in his tracks just as he was preparing the hand seal sequence for his jutsu.

"At least let me finish explaining, I know you're all cowards, but you don't have to be scared of me even when I'm incapacitated, do you?" Kabuto said snarkily.

"If you're not going to tell us where Sasuke-kun is, than save it!" Sakura said impatiently.

"I'm not going to tell you that, but don't you want to know about my new jutsu, I was just getting to the juicy part..." Kabuto said suggestively, knowing for a fact that Sakura's medical intuition would not allow her to resist the chance to find out about a potentially new medical breakthrough.

"..."

"Now as I was saying... you have to find a way to do things in your own way if you can't do them the normal way. And guess what, I have found a way to, rather than convert my chakra into an element, convert my chakra into poison. My chakra scalpel now carries a poison that is injected into you even with a small scratch. In other words, you're all lucky that I didn't make direct contact with any of you, you'd have died a horrible death otherwise." Kabuto explained much to everyone's shock and horror.

"Sai was lucky that I pierced him directly into the heart, and that I sliced him up afterwards. If it'd been a scratch, his death would have been very slow and horrific, the kind of stuff that you see in nightmares." Kabuto bragged with an, in the Konoha contingent's minds, unwarranted swagger given his current situation.

"If you make a move, you'll be dead long before you break out of your restraints...!" Kakashi said threateningly, trying to dissuade Kabuto from even trying to aminister his poison on any one of them.

_'If he's telling the truth, and he really has the ability to turn his chakra into poison and administer it through his special version of the chakra scalpel technique, than he might just be on his way to surpassing both Orochimaru and Sasori in the art of poison making, if he hasn't already.' _Kakashi thought wearily.

"True, very true. Besides, you guys would just find a cure even if I poisoned you. Between Yamato's ability to produce any herb that ever existed in this planet and Sakura's medical knowledge, it would be pointless to try and poison you right now. Although...maybe I should do it anyway, I mean why not? It will be a good experiment." Kabuto thought out loud for all three of his enemies to hear.

_'Yamato is the only person to have successfully and completely assimilated Hashirama's cells into his body to date. I can't be sure if I'll get another chance to evaluate Hashirama's powers in action like this again, it's worth a shot.' _Kabuto thought.

"You're dilusional..."Sakura began saying only to be swiftly cut off by the mad scientist.

"Maybe, but anyway, you should probably know, I've intentionally left behind tracks leading to the base where we're keeping Sasuke-kun, If you survive my jutsu, you should be able to make it to the base safely." Kabuto said nonchalantly.

_'I'd like to capture Yamato and do a little experimentation on him, perhaps figure out how exactly he was able to survive such a difficult genetic experiment. If I could find a way to harness that power for myself, the sky for my medical developments would not be the limit, there would be no limits!' _Kabuto though to himself.

"You expect us to believe that? You didn't even know that you would be meeting us instead of Sasori, why would have have left tracks behind on your way here?" Sakura asked with a mental roll of the eyes, honestly, what did this guy think they were, academy students?

"That's not what I meant, but oh well, did you know that it was possible to mould nature chakra into a shadow clone..." Kabuto trailed off maliciously, causing Kakashi's eyes to widen considerably in sudden realisation.

_'However, even if they survive the poisoning, Sasuke-kun won't go easy on anyone who opposes him. They'll be dead by the end of the day that's for sure. I just hope there's at least a corpse of Hashirama's clone for me to work with. Oh well, time for me to end this. ' _The mad scientist pondered.

"What do you think would happen if I moulded my poison nature into a shadow clone?" Kabuto said as his body starting glowing.

"This is an explosive shadow clone, get away from him Tenzo, Sakura!"Kakashi shouted as the poison style exploding shadow clone detonated from point blank range.

**00000000000000**

_'I didn't think he was serious, but he really did go out of his way to leave a trail for us to follow, which can only mean one thing, he still has a strong hand to play.' _Kakashi thought to himself as he, Sakura, and Yamato travelled through the dense forests of Kusa.

They were not travelling at a fast pace at all, but they were also not, by any means, travelling at a slow pace either. It was an intermediate pace, a pace shinobi used when they were travelling in enemy territory. They had found out the hard way that Kabuto had been very modest when he said he would leave a trail behind for them, he hadn't just left a trail, he'd actually carved clear directions to the base and even details about how to enter on the bark of a large oak tree. He'd even gone as far as to carve out arrows on aproximately every 50 trees or so that pointed them in the right direction.

Of course, they were never going to take Kabuto's generosity at face value, for all they knew, he could have been providing them with the wrong directions. However, Kakashi's nose said otherwise, he was able to tell by Kabuto's fresh scent that they were travelling in the right direction. Sakura would have liked nothing more than for them to increase they're speed, but both Yamato and Kakashi had warned her of how dangerous and in fact fatal such a reckless act would be if Kabuto has set up traps for them along the way. Kakashi had been adamant about it when she'd tried to resist, explaining that Kabuto was the type to use their desperation and anxiety about final meeting Sasuke to his advantage. She'd agreed, very reluctantly, that they were right about Kabuto and should keep with their current speed. As hard as it was for her, she'd have to learn to excercise patience, otherwise, she would end up having an early reunion with her deceased teammate, Sai, in the afterlife.

"Do you think we made the right call, Kakashi-senpei? Leaving Naruto to fight Orochimaru on his own like that...something about it just doesn't feel right." Yamato asked with a concerned expression.

"Naruto can handle himself, we have to focus on the mission. Orochimaru has practically baby sat Sasuke-kun in the last three years, he'll never be forced this far apart from him again, this is the clearest shot we'll ever have without Orochimaru's interference again. Besides, there's only six months left before Orochimaru takes over his body, if Orochimaru was able to evade Konoha for so many years, than we might never see Sasuke-kun again if we don't get him now. We can't allow that to happen, no matter what!" Sakura argued with conviction.

"So we sacrifice Naruto, one of our own, for what, for a criminal?" Yamato asked skeptically.

"He's not a criminal! Sasuke-kun was abducted by the sound four and they performed a ritual on him that evolved his cursed seal, making it easier for Orochimaru to manipulate him. He's not a criminal, he's the victim here!" Sakura pressed on vehemently.

"That still doesn't justify sacrificing Naruto to Orochi..."

"Naruto made the decision to face Orochimaru on his own, no one is sacrificing anyone. Besides, Naruto defeated Kakashi-sensei and Sasori on his own, he can hold his own against Orochimaru, and if that's not enough for you, than you need to remember your shinobi laws, shinobi must show no emotions and the mission comes first and foremost before everything else. This is the advice you gave to me when the mission began, and when Sai was killed. You need to follow your own advice, Yamato-taichou!" Sakura said with a cold glare.

There was of course a pang of guilt deep down in her heart, a void she was quickly and somewhat easily able to replace with the hope that she had of being re-united with her love of all loves. Still, she knew that she would feel really bad if Naruto ended up getting killed by Orochimaru, she would much rather prefer that everyone, well, everyone who was not already dead that is, returned from the mission alive and well, with her Sasuke-kun, but if Naruto had to die for Sasuke to be saved, than die he would. She would mourn his death, and she would visit and cry over his death, but she wouldn't, even for a second, regret her decision if it meant that she would be reunited with her true love.

_'This girl...she's not half as compassionate as her profile suggested. This level of apathy and even cruelty was not mentioned to me, they only got as far as mentioning her aggressive personality.' _Yamato thought with shock and surprise.

"Kakashi-senpei, I didn't expect something like this from a student of yours? Aren't you the one that once said that those who abandon their friends are even worse than those who break the rules?" Yamato asked.

"It is what I and Sakura believe, those who break the rules are trash, but those who abandon their friends are even worse than trash. That's why we won't abandon Sasuke. We, all three of us, me, Naruto, and Sakura are doing everything that we can to rescue our comrade..." Kakashi trailed off nostalgically.

"Cut the crap Kakashi! Who do you think you're fooling? I read your profile too, I know that you always favored Sasuke over Naruto, and I have no illusions about who Sakura favours either! Just admit it, you're choosing Sasuke over Naruto!" Yamato exclaimed impatiently.

"We're not choosing anything! You need to be with Sakura to create the herbs needed for us if we get poisoned again. We need Sakura to prescribe, concort, and administer the medication. And the two of you need me to counter against Sasuke's sharingan. I know Sasuke more than anyone, he won't come willingly. Kabuto was troublesome enough on his own, if he teams up with Sasuke, which seems to be his intention, than it's going to take all three of us working together to complete the mission! Besides...you're underestimating Naruto, remember, I've fought and lost to him already, and he defeated Sasori on his own. Naruto won't go down that easily, he'll beat Orochimaru!" Kakashi retorted angrily, sick and tired of Yamato's doubts, complaints, and, according to him, ridiculous insinuations.

"Nice try, but I read Naruto's profile. It is evident, given his previous record, and given that the Akatsuki came to scout him out three years ago, that the real reason he was able to beat you and Sasori was because you both must have underestimated him and were caught off guard. Naruto couldn't have become that strong over just two and a half years, it's impossible." Yamato countered.

"Naruto is not called the most surprising ninja for nothing. In any case, I also believe that Naruto only won because of his underdog advantage, but what's stopping Orochimaru from falling under the same trap? He has encountered the old Naruto many times before but never this new one, and he doesn't know that Naruto was the one that took out Sasori. He will surely not take Naruto as seriously as he took the Sandaime Hokage. And lets not forget about Orochimaru's lack of arms, that's something else to consider. Stop being petty and work with us to retrieve Sasuke-kun like you should. You're just overeacting now, I would expect better from a former A.N.B.U." Sakura said with a combination of aggression and manipulation, displaying the character traits of a woman that was willing to go to any extremes to get what she wanted.

"..."

"Good! Now...Kakashi-sensei, what's our plan of action when we catch up to Kabuto and...and Sasuke-kun?" Sakura demanded, hesitating slightly at the the thought of having to possibly fight against her beloved Sasuke.

"We have no idea what to expect from Sasuke, however, we have quite a bit of intel on Kabuto from our recent encounter with him. We know that, like you, Sakura, he's a medical shinobi. We also know that he's also a poison expert like his late master, Sasori, and a scientific and jutsu genius like his current master, Orochimaru. He's not just an A class threat like we initially thought he would be, we should aproach him as if he has an S class rating in the bingo books from now on." Kakashi explained.

"Yes, but you haven't told us anything we didn't already know, Sakura asked you for our plan of action." Yamato said stoicly.

_'Is he angry at me...at us?' _Kakashi wondered, however, choosing to quickly banish such thoughts to the back of his mind in order to focus on the more pressing issues that were ahead of them.

"Like I said, there's no particular battle strategy for Sasuke, we don't know ho much stronger he has become under Orochimaru's guidance. However, we know enough about Kabuto to somewhat predict his actions and battle decisions, and we know what kind of abilities to sort of expect from Sasuke based on the potential he showed three when he was still in Konoha. He has a sharingan, a fire affinity, and a lightning affinity. Therefore, it's only logical that I be the one to face him. I can counter his sharingan with my own sharingan, his raiton with my own raiton, and his katon with my suiton. I'm the perfect match for Sasuke. The two of you, as you already should know, as even Kabuto knows, are the perfect match for him. Between your mokuton and Sakura's medical technques, you should be able to generate an antidote for any of his poisons within a few seconds. Plus, you can use your mid-range and long range ninjutsu to create an opening for Sakura to deliver the killing blow with her super strength. We no longer need him alive now, you're allowed to go all out." Kakashi explained carefully.

"..."

"..."

"So what do you think?" Kakashi asked, directing his question at Yamato in particular.

"It makes perfect sense, I was also thinking the same thing really..."

**Booom!**

Yamato was cut off from mid-sentence by an ear shattering explosion coming from a distance, an explosion that sent he and his comrades, together with a bunch of uprooted trees flying at dangerous at a dangerous speed. Yamato, however, was very quick to react, the mokuton user binding himself and his comrades together with tree roots that he had grown from his body and than going on to incase himself and his comrades in a circular shield made entirely out of wood.

The explosion was very powerful, so powerful in fact that there wood sphere was sent flying for just over mile before crashing down on the surface, such was the speed and power of the wave of raw energy that had crashed into them. Fortunately for them, the wooden sphere that Yamato created had been tripple layered with thick layers of wood, enough for them to survive they whole ordeal without sustaining any injuries.

"What the hell was that?" Sakura asked with wide eyes, never before having seen such a level of chaos and destruction in her entire life.

"It came from the direction that we came from, it must have been Naruto using the Kyubi's power." Kakashi explained.

_'This level of raw power and destruction, it's similar to the effects of the destruction left behind by the tailed beast balls that Minato-sensei teleported away from the village fifteen years ago.' _Kakashi thought wearily.

"No...this is not the Kyubi's doing Kakashi, if it was, I would have felt it." Yamato said with a look of shock on his facial features.

"Are you trying to tell me that this was Orochimaru's doing?" Kakashi asked incredulously.

"I'm saying that it's not the kyubi's power, whether it's Naruto's or Orochimaru's is another matter altogether." Yamato answered, a disturbed expression clearly written all over his face.

"N-no way! How can anyone have a jutsu that powerful! This jutsu was executed at least five miles away from where we are, how is it possible for it's destructive effects to have such a far-reaching influence?" Sakura asked a combination of shock and skepticism.

"She's right. No normal human should be capable of this level of destruction. It must have been the kyubi's power." Kakashi argued.

"I'm telling you, this is not the Kyubi's power! Besides, we all know that neither Orochimaru or Naruto are normal humans." Yamato argued vehemently, even though even he had to admit that he was starting to have some doubts about his ability to feel the life force of a bijuu, after all, Kakashi and Sakura were right, how could any human have this kind of destructive power, normal human or not.

"Anyway, it doesn't matter. We have to play our part and hope that Naruto is able to play his. We can't go back now that we're so close to Sasuke-kun!" Sakura said with determination.

"Sakura's right, let's focus on completing the mission and we'll deal with everything else afterwards. Going back now would be counter productive." Kakashi ordered as he started running again towards Orochimaru's base, Sakura and Yamato silently following right behind him.

_'Naruto, we'll get Sasuke back, I promise!' _Kakashi thought, still unaware of how little Naruto cared about Sasuke's retrieval.

**End Chapter**

**This one I must admit was quite a little short compared to the others. But I felt like I should end it here and start afresh for the Orochimaru vs Naruto battle. **

**I don't like doing more than one battle in a chapter because usually I end up not doing justice to the second one. **

**In any case, as you can see, Kabuto caught team Kakashi completely off guard. They never expected him to be so confrontational and they cirtainly didn't expect him to be that strong.**

**Anyway, you probably also saw that Kabuto hasn't changed a whole lot really as a person, his vision and mission has just changed. **

**What I mean is, he now has a somewhat noble purpose but that doesn't mean his methods and personality will do a complete one eighty in the few seconds that he spoke to Naruto. **

**He'll still experiment on people and their dna, except this time, he'll be selective about who he experiments on. He won't exploit innocent people and experiment on them again, especially children. But Yamato is from the A.N.B.U of Konoha, he's obviously done a lot of bad things in the name of Konoha. Also, Yamato is an enemy too, so Kabuto has no reservations about using him or any enemy shinobi for that matter for his experiments.**

**Orochimaru, yeah what a tease, I bet most of you are pissed at me. Anyway here's a spoiler, that jutsu that destroyed everything is Orochimaru's, not Naruto's. I think you'll all be surprised in the next chapter when you see what the jutsu is, and, more specifically, what inspired it.**

**Oh ya I know that some of you might have gone crazy and are probably planning to call me stupid or whatever for making such a DBZ destruction level jutsu or whatever. Before you go there, take not that Pein's cho shinra tensei destroyed the whole of Konoha. I'm pretty sure that Konoha is bigger than a mere 5 miles. Chibaku Tensei could destroy Konoha too.**

**Also take note that Deidara's C3 would have destroyed the whole of Suna if it wasn't for Gaara sacrificing himself to stop it. And take note that Deidara's C0 was a 10km squared explosion.**

**There's also Konan and her Paper Messenger Of God Technique that explodes for ten minutes using 6 billion explosive tags.**

**I won't even mention Madara's meteors and perfect susano'o, or Hashirama's buddha statue or whatever that giant wood summon was.**

**Special mentions to Kakuzu and Kisame too. **

**Just wanted to clear that up, it's only Natural that Oro, as an ex Akatsuki, would have a jutsu capable of that level of destruction considering how many of them are capable of such feats.**

**Okay, long AN there. Next chapter will be out in a few weeks probably. It will be titled as Orochimaru's Power: Part 2 **

**Thanks for reading, and for the reviews.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto or any other series that I might use for inspiration.

**This chapter will begin with a summary of recent events, and than the story shall proceed as scheduled. Some parts I felt would limit story progression, so I added them to the summary, in detail of course. **

**The proper pacing of the story will begin after Sasuke (and Kabuto) take on the remainder of team Kakashi. Okay, anyway, here goes nothing...**

While Kakashi, Sakura, and Yamato carry on with their mission to retrieve Sasuke, in doing so, following Kabuto's scent along with the trail that he intentionally left behind, Naruto is locked in a life and death duel with the great snake sannin, Orochimaru.

At the beginning of the battle, Naruto arrives at the clearing where Orochimaru's body crashed, leaving behind a massive crater. Orochimaru's body sustains so much damage that his skin peels off, enough for Naruto to see the face of the host that Orochimaru took over.

Naruto taunts Orochimaru about his sexual orientation, asking if Orochimaru was tired of being a girl (his previous host was a girl) and finally decided what he wanted to be. Naturally, Orochimaru is angered by the assumed simple minded conclusions that the blonde Uzumaki is making about him, but chooses rather to keep his harsh words about that issue to himself, choosing rather to to attack the blonde Uzumaki before he attacks him again.

Having realized that he could not possibly hope to keep up with Naruto's speed in his three tailed form, Orochimaru goes for a one hit kill, using the Kusanagi's ability to extend rapidly to impale Naruto right through the heart. However, Orochimaru clearly underestimated Naruto's speed, as the blonde Uzumaki was still able to avoid contact with any major arteries or organs, the exponentially lengthened sword only piercing through his right shoulder as a result.

Orochimaru tries to yank the sword sideways with the intention of cutting right through Naruto's chest, however, Naruto uses one of his chakra limbs to hold the sword in place. He tries to break the sword with his chakra limbs and does not succeed, but than remembers that the Kusanagi, being one of the late rikuudo sennin's treasured weapons, will not be that easily broken, if breakeable at all.

With that in mind, Naruto finds himself in a desperate situation, one option is to force the sword to shift to the right, with the possibility of cutting through part of his chest and dismember his arm, but he chooses another option, an experimental one, which is to channel the fox's chakra through the Kusanagi and to Orochimaru with the hope that the Kyubi's corrosive chakra would be enough to outright kill him, or paralyze him long enough for Naruto to get rid of him. Needless to say, the latter of the two options was chosen.

Orochimaru however realises the danger in time and spits out the sword from his mouth, along with the snake from which the sword was stored, as he moves away to a position he deemed safe from the fox's chakra. The snake is almost instantly eroded by the corrosive chakra

Recovery of the sage's weapons being one of his lesser but regardless important objectives, Naruto already has an idea of how the Kusanagi might work. He theorizes that one would have to obviously channel their chakra into the sword in order to trigger the extention effect. However, extention is not the only ability that the Kusanagi has, he remembers that Orochimaru levitated the sword and controlled it from a distance when he fought the Sandaime Hokage and he also is able to clearly feel in his body the poisonous effects of the sword.

Spinning all of this inside his mind, Naruto comes up with a theory, he concludes that there had to be a way to determine what effect one wanted when channeling chakra into the sword, but with only one chakra entrance point visible on the seal that is on the handle, he realizes that the seal must serve also as a storage compartment of sorts. The seal stores the chakra of the user in order to confirm the identity of the user whenever he channels chakra into the sword. The sword than reacts whenever that person channels chakra into the seal. This is so that only the owner can manipulate the sword, in other words, to protect the user from the opponent using the user's own weapon against him. He also comes to the conclusion that, all things concidered, the sword works in a manner not too different from a human. A human channels chakra to a specific body part and uses his mind to manipulate what effect said chakra should have on that body part, therefore, he would also have to channel his chakra into the sword and manipulate the effect with his mind. However, he would have to get rid of Orochimaru's chakra that was already stored within the sword, which might as well have been as easy as taking candy from a baby, the Kyubi's potent chakra more than strong enough to push out Orochimaru's chakra out of the sword and replacing it with his own.

Needless to say, Orochimaru is left stunned when his own Kusanagi, glowing with a the menacing red of the Kyubi's chakra comes flying at him at quite an impressive speed. Orochimaru realizes that he wouldn't be fast enough to evade the Kyubi enhanced Kusanagi and instantly summons a rashomon gate to block the Kusanagi. He underestimates the kyubi enhanced Kusanagi in the process as he never expected it to penetrate through his specially modified rashomon gate. However, even though the gate is penetrated, it does just enough to slow down and alter the sword's direction, enough for Orochimaru to avoid getting impaled by the sword.

As this is going on, and with the aim of not allowing the battle to drag on, Naruto quickly enters a tailed beast transformation, entering his four tailed form and quickly generating a tailed beast blast to destroy both the rashomon gate and Orochimaru himself. Orochimaru summons two more rashomon gates just in time and as a result just barely survives the attack, losing more than half of his body in the process, forcing him to use the snake shedding technique to spit out a new body for himself, a jutsu with a massive chakra requirement.

At this point in time, Orochimaru feels secure in either his victory, or successful escape as he believes that Naruto has lost control and is nothing but a mildless beast, he is shocked when Naruto, in his four tailed tailed beast form starts speaking to him, praising Orochimaru for surviving such a powerful attack and for finding a way to have access to ninjutsu despite the sealing of his arms, albeit a limited access it may be. Orochimaru is further surprised by Naruto's intelligence when Naruto accurately speculates on the secret behind Orochimaru's ability to use his hands, Naruto stating that Orochimaru was using the life-force of the body that he took over to replenish his arms, but that as a result, Orochimaru had to keep switching bodies every three years or so because of the depletion of the host's life force, which would lead him back to square one, lack of access to his arms and the constant pain and agony that came with it. Naruto also concludes that Orochimaru probably wanted to either finish the fight quickly, or get as far away from him as possible because the longer they fought and the more jutsu Orochimaru uses, the faster Orochimaru would lose the host's life-force.

Naruto than questions Orochimaru's hesitance to deplete the life-force, as Orochimaru should want that to happen sooner rather than later in order to get Sasuke's body as soon as possible. Naruto than concludes that maybe Orochimaru wants Sasuke to get older and stronger, as a result, get a larger and more potent life-force so that his body can last longer, but than changes his mind tauntingly, suggesting that rather, the real reason must be that the serpent sannin is scared of Sasuke, scared that if he loses access to his host's life force, and therefore access to his ninjutsu, Sasuke would betray him and kill him, that's why Orochimaru was delaying.

Orochimaru is angered by this insinuation, add the danger that this seemingly different Naruto seemed to pose to, never mind his plans, but his very existence as a whole, one cannot be surprised by his decision to go all out for the kill. Orochimaru therefore ratailiates verbally and physically. Verbally, as he tells the blonde that he has the power equivalent and possibly even greater to that of a tailed beast even without the use of his arms, physically, as he spits out a new body for himself...a very very big body, the serpent sannin using the Yamata no Jutsu, the **Eight Branches Technique**, taking on a form that is a white, gigantic, eight headed and eight tailed snake made up of many other small snakes. Inside the open mouth of the snake head in the middle of the eight headed formation, the fourth snake to be exact, is a naked Orochimaru, revealing only his upper body to the blonde Uzumaki as the rest of his body seemed to be the rest of the eight headed snake.

Orochimaru explains that this is his sage mode and that this is his ultimate technique. He also explains that he will never really run out of life-force to replenish his arms as he could just get it from nature itself. Naruto however is outwardly unimpressed by Orochimaru's new form, the blonde Uzumaki explaining that a true sage had the ability to contain nature energy in his human form without his appearance taking on major transformations. He explains that the fact that Orochimaru turned into a gigantic creature only shows his lack of control over his power. Orochimaru points out the hypocrisy in the blonde Uzumaki's statement, saying that Naruto, having taken on the form of a miniature fox himself, is no different to him as he himself should be able to control the fox's power without transforming into a beast if he truly was a master of his power. Inside his mind all the while, Orochimaru can't get it out of his mind, how on earth did Naruto become so intelligent, why does he know so much, who is his real source of information, could it really be that Jiraiya was that good of a teacher? Was Minato also a hopeless idiot before Jiraiya took him under his wing?

Nevertheless, Naruto accepts Orochimaru's criticism somewhat graciously, the blonde Uzumaki transforming back to his normal human form. Orochimaru is surprized that Naruto hasn't suffered any side effects from using such a dense and corrosive chakra in the manner that he had, but quickly puts it at the back of his mind. He is also impressed by the blonde's apparent immunity to the kusanagi's poison, but instead chooses to focus on the battle at hand, adopting the kill first and ask questions later motto.

Deep down, Orochimaru laments his failure to kill the blonde Uzumaki three years ago when he had the chance in his three way battle with his former team mates, as he re-affirms in his mind that Naruto will pose a great threat to his plans and his very existence if left unattended to, as he had concluded three years ago when he saw Naruto use the rasengan on Kabuto. With all that in mind, and his self preservation instincts kicking in, Orochimaru decides to go all out from the start, preparing to use his strongest ninjutsu to get rid of the blonde jinchuuriki.

Before Naruto can make his own move, or rather, because Naruto was waiting for Orochimaru to make the first move, he is unable to do anything to stop Orochimaru from activating his ultimate ninjutsu, as seven spheres of energy, very big spheres of energy form on each of the other seven heads of Orochimaru's body, all except for the one that was housing his body.

Seeing the surprised look on the blonde Uzumaki's face, Orochimaru can't help but to smirk triumphantly at the blonde Uzumaki's awed expression, the serpent sage even going as far as to gloat to the blonde Uzumaki about his archievements before launching the jutsu, as, as far as he was concerned, victory was already assured as soon as that jutsu was activated.

Orochimaru explains that this jutsu, named the** raging serpent sphere barrage**, is the reason why he has power superior even to the Kyubi. Orchimaru confirms what Naruto has already deciphered through visual information and through his chakra sensing ability, when he tells Naruto that each of the snakes that make up the eight branches has the ability to control nature energy and elemental chakra independently of the other snakes. Naruto already knows that this is true, as he has confirmed that one of the spheres is made up of wind chakra, two with fire, two with lightning, and one with water. the blonde Uzumaki also notices that the two lightning spheres are situated on each side of the water sphere and the two fire spheres on each side of the wind sphere, which means that Orochimaru is planning to use the complementary properties of wind and fire, along with those of lightning and water, to increase the power and destruction of his jutsu.

There is one sphere though that captures Naruto's attention, the one that doesn't have any nature transformation imbued into it, a sphere that, just like the others, is almost as big as a tailed beast ball, if not just as big. Orochimaru also takes note of the blonde Uzumaki's attention on that particular sphere, and can't hold back the jab at the blonde Uzumaki and his father, asking Naruto if he thought that his father was the only one that aspired to attain the power of tailed beast ball? He also brags that fourth's pathetic ideas for the rasengan pale in comparison to his achievements with the** raging serpent sphere barrage. **

Naruto is irritated by Orochimaru's words, but shows no outward reaction, much to Orochimaru's surprise, the sannin having thought that at least if not by demonstrating his superioty to the fourth, than at least the blonde Uzumaki should have been surprised by the revelation that the fourth was his father. Regardless, this further confirms what Orochimaru already suspected, that this Naruto is completely different from the Naruto of old, almost like someone else had taken over his body.

Nevertheless, Orochimaru theorizes that the weakening of the seal must have given the fox more access to the blonde, hence concluding that Naruto's maturity might have been a result of the fox manipulating him. He gets no response however from the blonde, further adding to his already boiling frustration.

Meanwhile, Naruto evaluates his options, realising that if Orochimaru's jutsu was a poweful as he made it out to be, than, given his current position, if the jutsu were to miss, or even if it hit him, it would be headed towards the direction that Sakura, Kakashi, and Yamato had taken. He can also sense their chakra and knows that Kabuto is already too far away to get caught in the blast range, but...they aren't.

Naruto smiles truimphantly, of course, he is aware that Kakashi has that troublesome kamui ability that could probably save them from Orochimaru's jutsu. In fact, he was counting on that, knowing that Kakashi would be significantly weakened should he use that jutsu, thereby granting Kabuto and Sasuke a greater chance of victory.

With that in mind, Naruto taunts the serpent sage, telling him to give it his best shot and see what happens. Orochimaru falls for the bait, not that he had any other choice given how much he'd already hyped up his jutsu, and how confident he was in its destructive power. Before that however, Naruto jumps high up into the air, forcing Orochimaru to raise his aim higher in order to hit the blonde, not knowing that the blonde Uzumaki was actually adjusting the jutsu's trajectory in order to target his own comrades.

Orochimaru fires the jutsu, all seven spheres at the airborn blonde Uzumaki, giving virtually zero chance of dodging the jutsu. However, the blonde had been training really hard with Haku over the last two weeks, overusing shadow clones and his limitless energy to speed up the process of learning and mastering the **demonic ice crystal mirrors technique**. As a result, the blonde Uzumaki was able to dive into a mirror and teleport himself to another mirror that he formed higher above the snake sannin without Orochimaru's notice.

Orochimaru, celebrating his victory prematurely, was caught completely off guard when a number of glowing chains suddenly surrounded him and indeed, his entire body, the chains going into the ground and forming a tranparent barrier around him. Orochimaru is quick to recognize the jutsu as Kushina's **chakra chain barrier**, but is unable to believe that Kushina could be alive, thereby concluding that the jutsu is being used by Naruto himself. This theory is further substantiated when the dust and debri clears up to reveal Naruto standing on the ground with the chains protruding from his back.

Orochimaru makes his surprise and begruding respect known to the blonde Uzumaki, as he never expected him to have mastered such an advanced clan kinjutsu. He however arrogantly taunts the blonde, stating that the barrier was useless as he was immortal and could not be killed by any jutsu in the blonde Uzumaki's arsenal, even that tailed beast blast that he used in his four tailed fox mode, and even if he could, Naruto would have to drop the barrier in order to hit him with that jutsu, giving him a small but significant window to escape the jutsu.

Orochimaru is left speechless however as the real Naruto, not the clone that was restraining him, speaks to him from an ice mirror just a few metres above him, Naruto stating that he wouldn't need to remove the barrier in order to get rid of the snake sage. Orochimaru is left speechless once again when he sees the blonde inside an ice mirror, immediatly recognising the jutsu and to whom it belonged to. Already concluding that Naruto must have left a clone behind when he jumped into the air and teleported himself at the very last second before contact with the raging sphere barrage, Orochimaru demands different answers, asking how it was possible for the blonde Uzumaki to know a kekkei genkei jutsu like the demonic ice crystal mirrors

Naruto answers him truthfully, stating that Momochi Yuki Haku had taught it to him. Orochimaru challenges such a statement, as a kekkei genkei jutsu like that couldn't possibly be simply taught to another, he wonders to himself if Naruto was part of some kind of dna transfusion experiment conducted by R.O.O.T.

Naruto howeve entertains no further conversation, as he believes Orochimaru is simply trying to buy time to find an escape from his entrapment. However, before delivering the killing blow, Naruto responds to Orochimaru's earlier taunts, saying that Orochimaru was mistaken when he said that the Fourth's attempts to replicate the power of a tailed beast were futile, as those attempts had helped him complete his ultimate ninjutsu, a ninjutsu superior to Orochimaru raging sphere barrage, and a jutsu he had originally intended to use to destroy Konoha, but had no qualms about testing it on him. As he says this, Naruto removes his upper body from the mirror as he forms a dark, menacing sphere the size of an oodama rasengan with a glowing, white ring floating around the sphere on his right hand palm.

Needless to say, Orochimaru is shocked by the sheer potency of the energy released by such a 'small' jutsu and fear creeps into the center of his being. He demands to know what kind of jutsu the blonde Uzumaki was using, and the blonde Uzumaki indulges him before ending his life, explaining that this jutsu combines the power of a tailed beast ball, the rasengan, and the power of the sage of the six paths, the yin/yang release, to produce the result that he was holding on the palm of his hand. Naruto also explains that he knows that Orochimaru can reincarnate himself even if one of the thousands of snakes making up his body survives, hence why he was using this jutsu, to guarantee that everything forming part of the serpent sannin would be eroded from face of earth.

**"Rasenringu..." **Naruto says as he almost casually drops the** spiralling fear wheel technique **onto the barrier.

Orochimaru waits anxiously for the moment where the blonde Uzumaki would undoubtedly have to drop the barrier, but that moment never comes, instead, it almost seems like the jutsu just fazed through the barrier without the shadow clone ever releasing the barrier, or even showing signs of doing so. The jutsu makes contact with Orochimaru and explodes, incinerating every living cell of the snake sage, effectively and literally wiping him off of the face of the earth.

**00000000000000**

Elsewhere, Kakashi, Yamato, and Sai finally follow Kakashi's scent detections along with Kabuto's directions and finally catch up to Kabuto and Sasuke. The two rogue shinobi seem to have been patiently waiting for them, standing side by side at the top of a relatively small cliff, in front of a cave entrance.

This is the moment that they've been waiting for, for three years now, yet it seems so surreal to them, both Sakura and Kakashi unable to quite believe that they finally caught up to Sasuke. However, if they expected a warm reunion, than they might have been more naive than Sasuke originally thought, the rogue Uchiha simply greeting them with a 'generous' warning, to go back home, without him, or die right there and then, by his own hands.

Naturally, neither Kakashi nor Sakura have any such intentions, Sakura pleading with Sasuke to come home and Kakashi declaring that he was taking Sasuke home, even if he has to do it by force. Yamato on the other hand remains silent the whole time and Kabuto watches the interaction from Sasuke's side with nothing short of amusement.

Sasuke, realizing that his warning would fall on deaf ears retaliates with a retorical question, asking the new team 7 if they knew why he had chosen to wait for them on that particular position, leaving all three members of team seven scratching their heads in wonder. Sasuke shakes his head with mock pity at his former team's naivety, crouching down at the edge of the cliff and placing his palm on the side wall of the cliff before uttering the name of his jutsu...

**"Summoning Technique: Great Fire Illumination!" **Sasuke utters, a modified summoning seal spreading out rapidly on the side wall, the wall facing his former comrades before the seal, at it's rapid completion, expelling a great fire storm with unreal degrees of heat, a heat equivalent to that of the sun itself.

Team seven, and everything behind them would have been whiped off of the face of the earth had it not been, once again, for Kakashi's kamui, the copy ninja having no choice but to absorb the whole fire. However, the magnitude of the jutsu, and the fact that this was the second time that Kakashi had used this jutsu in the space of a few minutes, was enough to almost completely drain Kakashi of his chakra reserves, leaving the copy ninja in a vulnerable state, although still succeeding in absorbing the whole fire storm.

Sasuke is impressed by Kakashi's jutsu, expressing his surprise that Kakashi really awakened a mangyeko sharingan like Kabuto had told him despite not even being an Uchiha. He also explains that his jutsu is a summoning technique of his own creation that summons heat directly from the sun and than controlling it with his chakra to form the ultimate fire technique. He states that he never expected that someone, especially anyone from team seven would be capable of stopping such a powerful fire jutsu, moreso as he had developed this space time technique in order to trump Itachi's amateresu.

Nonetheless, Sasuke, with his powers of observation, is able to diagnose that Kakashi has been severely weakened by the use of the mangyeko sharingan despite his best efforts to hide it, and explains that this is the gap between Kakashi and a real Uchiha, a gap bigger than the distance between heaven and earth. He calls Kakashi a cheap imitation of an Uchiha that deserves to be eliminated for his mockery of an existence.

Kakashi and Sakura plead for Sasuke to stop acting like this and return to his old self. They beg him not to let Orochimaru turn him into something he is not and reclaim his real self, the old Sasuke, the Sasuke that they know and love. However, Sasuke won't have any of that, the rogue Uchiha brutally enlightening them in the process, telling them the Sasuke that they want is a mere illusion they conjured up on their own. He tells them that the Sasuke they knew was never real, but a reflection of what they wanted him to be, not what he actually was. He further adds that no one has any right to tell him how to live his life, that he has taken control of his life and will write his tail the way he wants it to be written, without the burden of their selfish desires that they wish to impose on him. Having said that, Sasuke creates three shadow clones and sends them after the new look team seven, but not before noting the irony that their demise would come in the form of Naruto's signature jutsu.

The shadow clones are extremely fast, but not as fast as the original, all three of team seven's members able to counter their taijutsu attacks and deliver a killing blow. Kakashi is surprised, and chastices Sasuke for underestimating them to think that he could kill them with such a parlour trick, however, Sasuke simply smirks at Kakashi as he explains that the parlour tick as he calls it is merely a means to an end, a way to set up the jutsu that will end their miserable existence.

The whole of team seven is confused until Sasuke points at their feet. Looking down, they are all surprised to find that under and around each one of them is a seperate summoning seal. Kakashi, being an admirer and regular user of the shadow clone technique himself, is able to instantly and correctly analyze the situation. He remembers that the chakra that the shadow clone retains when it dies is returned back to the user of the jutsu to replenish his own chakra reserves, but notes that Sasuke has modified the technique to his own advantage. Instead of the chakra of his clones returning to him, Sasuke simly manipulated the chakra from the dispelled shadow clone from a distance in order to form the summoning seals. He realises that Sasuke simply used the shadow clone technique as a means to transport his chakra to their location for this very purpose.

However, this realization comes too little to late, as, with a simple ram hand seal, Sasuke re-activates the **summoning technique: great fire illumination**, this time, using three smaller seals for a more focussed application of the jutsu, and this time, attacking from below, out of Kakashi's line of site, just in case he still had enough chakra to re-activate that kamui jutsu. Kakashi and Sakura are caught in their own dispair, realising that there was no way that they could possibly avoid this jutsu, Kakashi, because of his condition after using kamui twice, Sakura, because she had no idea how to evade this jutsu, and no means either. However, Yamato comes to the rescue, using the **wood style: substitution technique **to replace all three of them with replica wooden dummies.

Kakashi is glad for Yamato's quick thinking and his unique abilities, having wanted to use the substitution jutsu himself but having nothing to substitute himself with in such a secluded area. However, thanks to Yamato's wood style, he on the other hand had the abiltity to almost instantly create wooden dummies and use them for substitution. He could even make them of a special kind of wood that was much lighter than the average log, thereby making the execution of the jutsu quicker and easier.

At this point, Sasuke is no longer amused nor does he have the time to acknowledge their jutsu prowess. Just the thought of these 'weaklings' surviving two of his most powerful jutsu and attack formations is enough to send him over the edge, after all, these jutsu were meant to be used against Itachi, to be used to 'kill' Itachi. However, if these 'weaklings' were able to survive these jutsu, than how was he ever going to kill Itachi with them?

Still, the rogue Uchiha is able to take solace in the fact that his attack formation was yet to be completed, as the last piece, above and literally in the skies, was taking position, dark and thunderous clouds forming themselves in the skies as a result of the the heat from his two fire jutsu, the second of which was launched straight into the sky.

It is impossible for Sakura, Yamato, and Kakashi not to notice the dark clouds forming in the sky, and Yamato is quick to point out the reason for this sudden occurence, pointing out that it was Sasuke's recent fire attack that was the cause of storm clouds. Sasuke praises him for his scientific and climate knowledge, but also explains that the thunder clouds are not just a coincidence, or just a regular side effect of his fire jutsu, he explains that this is very much part of his plan, his grand master piece, his ultimate jutsu that will wipe them off of the face of the earth without fail.

As he says this, Sasuke lifts his left hand and points it towards the sky, his hand getting coated by a powerful electrical current. As soon as he does this, a gigantic dragon made out of lightning shows its raging face up in the clouds, causing team seven to gasp in shock, realization, but most of all, dispair! The trio unable to quite comprehend how Sasuke could have possibly become this strong over such a short period of time.

Kakashi tries to reason with Sasuke one more time, asking him to reconsider and telling him that he still has time to turn back from his path of destruction, a path that will only lead to emptyness. However, Sasuke ignores hm, only telling him and his comrades to vanish with the roar of thunder as he pulls his hand downwards, sending the lightning fast, destructive, and widespread bolt of lightning down on his former teammates.

The whole landscape is reconfigured as the power of the heavens themselves brings forth judgement on the earth and its subjects. Sasuke and Kabuto watch the scene with insanely gleeming eyes, the two of them seemingly enjoying the the destruction and carnage as if they were little boys in a fireworks carnival.

However, as soon as the dust and debri clears, the two Konoha defectors see something that they hardly could have expected, the landscape is littered with human sized slugs that seem to have come out of nowhere. Kabuto quickly analyzes the sitaution, stating that either Sakura, as Tsunade's apprentice, had signed the slug summoning contract and summoned Katsuya, or, that Tsunade must have sent Katsuya to the battefield to aid team Kakashi.

Sasuke is irritated by this intervention, but watches the sitaution carefully in order to properly measure his situation. He is now becoming increasingly weary and agitated, having used three shadow clones and two S rank fire techniques, he realises that there is only so much more that he can do before he is forced to access the cursed seal, an idea that doesn't quite sit well with him, after all, why should he, an elite and genius Uchiha, be forced to rely on that power to defeat such inferior opponents?

Nevertheless, the answers present themselves soon enough as three of the slugs litering the battlefield seem to split up into three slugs and three humans, although, what actually happened was that they just released the humans that they had stored inside of them briefly through their bodies. The humans are revealed to be none other than a weary Hatake Kakashi, Yamato, and an unconscious Haruna Sakura.

Kabuto notes that the answers to their questions have been answered, but can't help but show his surprise that Sakura was able to summon Katsuya, even if the mere achievement itself almost killed her. Sasuke on the other hand is not impressed, and seeks to end the one sided battle once and for all. The thunder clouds are still in the sky and this time, Sasuke summons all of the electricity in the clouds and creates an even bigger lighting dragon. Before he drops his hand however, he feels he has to explain something to his enemy. His explains that the role of those without power is to obey the ones who have the power, and thereby, he, as one who has power, has the authority to pass down orders unto them, just as they have the obligation to follow his orders. He tells them that he only has one order for them, and that order...is for them to die.

Sasuke drops his hand as soon as he has said his piece. Katsuya notes that even she can't survive a second hit from that jutsu, more especially if it is an even bigger one. She wants to ask the others about Naruto's whereabouts but never gets the chance to do so as Sasuke drops his hand, forcing her to make a decision she never wanted to make, but found that she had no choice but to make. With this in mind, Katsyuya re-absorbs Yamato, Kakashi, and Sakura before dispelling herself, taking them back to the summoning realm of the slugs, the Shikkotsu Forest, and than later, back to Konoha, thereby abandoning Naruto in enemy territory...in order to save herself, and three other lives.

Once again, Sasuke and Kabuto are forced to shield their eyes from the blinding light and the mini dust storm created by Sasuke's kirin, the duo waiting patiently for the dust and debri to clear up.

After a minute a so, the atmosphere is cleared and the two rogue shinobi are unable to sense team seven's presence or existence with any of their five senses. Sasuke concludes that they are indeed dead, but can't believe that it took his ultimate ninjutsu to get rid of such low class shinobi. He decides that he will demand more training from Orochimaru as he feels that, in his current state, he would probably still lose to Itachi.

"Itachi is indeed a powerful foe, however, don't sell yourself too short Sasuke-kun, after all, how many people can claim to have singlehandedly faught a mangyeko sharingan and a mokuton ninjutsu wielder and forced them to retreat, huh, Sasuken-kun? Isn't that another way of looking at it?" Kabuto asked retorically.

"Did you just say...retreat? What do you mean by that exactly?" Sasuke demanded.

"He means that you failed to kill team seven, that they escaped via Katsuya's reverse summoning. You know, for someone with a sharingan, your discerning skills are quite lacking...Sasuke." A soft spoken voice sounded right on Sasuke's ear, the rogue Uchiha feeling a sharp pricking pain on his throat, a small trail of blood leaking from the shallow wound.

To say Sasuke was surprised would be like saying that Tsunade has sizeable breasts, a massive understatement. The rogue Uchiha had no idea how someone, anyone could have possibly gotten that close to him without detection, just the thought of it sent a cold chill down his spine, filling him with a fear almost equivalent to how he used to feel when he thought about Itachi after the massacre.

_'That voice, that's definitely Naruto-kun, but why can't I see him? Is he using the hiding with camourflage technique...no, that's impossible, this jutsu is something else entirely, he's not cloaking his visibilty or camourflaging himself, he's literally invisible.' _Kabuto thought analytically.

_'I'll just have to ask him about it later, more importantly, if he's here, than that must mean that he succeeded...he really defeated Orochimaru-sam...Orochimaru.' _Kabuto thought with a mixture of relief, excitement, and dare he say... happiness.

"W-who are you? And how did you sneak up on me...why can't I see you?" Sasuke demanded without a hint of fear, or at least, tried to say without a hint of fear, but his slightly cracking voice betraying him unfortunately.

"I'm surprised you don't recognise my voice, Sasuke. Don't act so scared though, I mean, I'm not going kill you, you spared my life when we fought at the valley three years ago, so I'm going to spare yours today. That will make us even, right, Sasuke?" Naruto said, causing Sasuke's eyes to widen in surprize and realization.

"N-Naruto! You bastard!" Sasuke said angrily.

"Good guess, but there's no need to get riled up, just like there is no need for us to fight right now, after all, we have the same goals...or rather, one of my goals coincidentially just so happens to coincide with one of yours." Narutoreplied casually.

"Unhand me, dobe!" Sasuke demanded arrogantly.

"As you wish." Naruto said, jumping away from the rogue Uchiha and landing next to Kabuto at a relatively safer distance from his former best friend.

"Naruto..." Sasuke said as he turned around to face the blonde Uzumaki, only to find himself staring at thin air.

"Show yourself, dobe, or do I really freighten you that much that you feel you have to hide yourself and fight from the shadows. Are you scared of facing me head on, Dobe?" Sasuke asked condensingly.

"You know, you're quite cocky, for someone that almost died a few seconds ago...for someone that was saved only by my merciful heart." Naruto said as he made himself visible again.

"Whatever, what kind of ninjutsu is that anyway, where did you learn it?" Sasuke demanded.

"Still acting like the world owes you everything I see. But anyway to answer your question, this is a jutsu I learned from my summons, it's a jutsu that requires the ability to harness nature energy from earth itself. It takes a special kind of shinobi to be able to master such a jutsu." Naruto explained, causing Sasuke's eyes to widen slightly in realization.

"You mean to tell me that you're a sage, like Orochimaru? What nonsense! There's no way someone like you, who couldn't even control his own chakra properly, would be able to control nature energy. Even Orochimaru couldn't master that ability. And besides, since when do toads have chameleon like abilities?" Sasuke argued with a heavy dose of irritation, or was it just jealousy?

_'There's no way the dobe could have become that powerful in such a short time, it's impossible!' _Sasuke thought in denial.

"Oh well, it doesn't matter whether you believe me or not, in fact, I don't really care at all, Sasuke. And by the way, I'm no longer aligned to the toads, I cancelled that summoning contract years ago when I met the chameleons." Naruto explained.

_'So he's aligned with chameleons after all.' _Sasuke thought to himself.

"Excuse me for the interuption, but why did you cancel the taod summoning Naruto-kun? Why not just sign them both and use them together? After all, the toads are very wise, knowledgeable, and powerful. If you were worried about Jiraiya, well, I'm sure someone as resourceful and powerful as you could have found a way to get rid of him." Kabuto asked curiously and suggestively.

"I'll explain everything to you later on, in fact, I'll explain everything now, before I return to Konoha. Sasuke, you're free to go, Orochimaru is dead, so you don't need to stick around any longer, you can now focus on your mission to eliminate Itachi. And you don't need to worry about Orochimaru taking over your body, I made sure of that." Naruto said neutrally.

"W-what?" Sasuke asked with a look of disbelief.

"Where do you think I was all this time, did you just think that I arrived late because I didn't wake up in time? I was fighting Orochimaru while the rest of team seven followed Kabuto here. Our intention, as in I and Kabuto's intention was for him to lead team seven here so that you can eliminate them. However, that didn't quite workout the way we planned it, team Kakashi managed to escape before you delivered the killing blow thanks to Katsuya." Naruto explained.

"Nevertheless, my other goal was to get rid of Orochimaru and to free you from Orochimaru's grip, so at least that was a success." Naruto said casually.

Sasuke didn't think that he could have been more surprised by his reunion with Naruto. This was totally unexpected, he really didn't expect to their reunion to pan out like this. In fact, he expected Naruto to be even worse than Kakashi and Sakura, to scream, curse, beg, plead, and even cry about everything and especially about his refusal to return to Konoha. But this Naruto was different, Sasuke wasn't hundred percent sure if this wasn't a trick, but he was fairly certain that this Naruto didn't really care if he returned to Konoha or not. And he wasn't sure of this either, but he felt like this Naruto wouldn't hesitate to kill him if he gave him a reason and a chance to.

"Do you really expect me to believe that you killed Orochimaru, you, Uzumaki Naruto, deadlast dobe?" Sasuke asked with an insulted expression.

"Actually, it's common sense Sasuke-kun. Naruto-kun was told to delay Orochimaru in order to keep him occupied and seperated from you until team Kakashi captured you. However, Naruto-kun is now here and Orochimaru is no where to be found. Therefore, one plus one is two...and Orochimaru is dead." Kabuto said as if speaking to a little child, causing a tick mark to appear on Sasuke's forehead.

"Kabuto, weren't you one of Orochimaru's lackeys, weren't you one of his most loyal fanatics? If Orochimaru really is dead...wait a minute...Dobe! What did you mean back than?" Sasuke demanded with a confused expression.

**Flashback no Jutsu:**

_"Where do you think I was all this time, did you just think that I arrived late because I didn't wake up in time? I was fighting Orochimaru while the rest of team seven followed Kabuto here. Our intention, as in I and Kabuto's intention was for him to lead team seven here so that you can eliminate them. However, that didn't quite workout the way we planned it, team Kakashi managed to escape before you delivered the killing blow thanks to Katsuya." Naruto explained_

**Flashback no Jutsu End**

"Oh that's right, you don't know do you? Hahaha, Kabuto and I are friends, very good friends actually. In fact, I consider him as a friend more than I ever thought of you." Naruto said with a sinister smirk, one that was equally matched by Kabuto's own next to Naruto, his glasses gleeming brightly, with the effect of making him look even more menacing than he already did.

"N-no way! Y-you mean to tell me that you two were in on this together from the start?" Sasuke asked in shock.

"You know, I thought that, having spent three years with Orochimaru, you'd be much colder than this. However, you have showed more emotions in the few minutes that I have spent with you than you did the whole time I knew you in Konoha. You've gotten soft...Sasuke." Naruto said patronizingly, causing Sasuke to snarl at the blonde Uzumaki.

"Answer me!" Sasuke shouted irritably.

"No!" Naruto said as his chakra spiked rapidly, freezing the rogue Uchiha in place with his strong and potent chakra, so strong that the earth itself started cracking and breaking apart, a strong breeze washing over the the area.

"I will no longer listen to your demands! I don't owe you anymore explanations, I don't owe you any answers to your questions. And, after sparing you your life today, I no longer owe you anything!" Naruto growled out menacingly.

"..."

"..."

"This is the current situation. You are alive, and you are free to do as you please. Go and train, get stronger, and kill Itachi, or is your revenge no longer a priority for you? Has your hatred weakened over the years?" Naruto asked retorically, the blonde Uzumaki letting go slightly and regaining control of his wild chakra.

"I will kill Itachi under my own terms and conditions, I don't need anyone to tell me how to do it. Besides, why are you so interested in my goal, why do you want Itachi dead so much?" Sasuke demanded.

"I think you'll have to answer some of his questions Naruto-kun, he's just like a woman sometimes, he just never lets things go. He'll nag you until you feel like cutting through your own throat if he has to." Kabuto said with a mischievious smirk.

"Why you...!"

"Enough!"

"..."

"..."

"Fine, I'll answer this question only. Sasuke, do you know about Akatsuki?" Naruto asked.

"Of course I do. It's the criminal organisation that Orochimaru used to belong to...that Itachi belongs to!" Sasuke said with disgust at the mere mention of his brother's name.

"Okay, do you know what this organisation is after?" Naruto asked.

"..."

"They are after the nine tailed beasts, from the ichibi to the kyubi. That is what they are after. You know that Itachi came to the village looking for me three years ago right, and you can recall that I used a strange power when we fought at the valley of the end don't you?" Naruto asked retorically.

"I see...so that really was the kyubi's power that you used that time after all. You have the kyubi sealed inside of you, and that's why everybody hated you in Konoha. Everything makes a lot more sense now. The fourth Hokage didn't kill the kyubi, he sealed it into a dobe by the name Uzumaki Naruto." Sasuke thought out loud.

"Exactly, so you see, Itachi is the Akatsuki member to which the duty to capture me has been assgned. That's why I have such a vested interest in his death. You and I have the same goal. That is part of the reason that I spared your life, so that you can complete that goal for us." Naruto explained.

"So you're using me, just like Orochimaru!" Sasuke said indignantly.

"Yes, I'm using you!" Naruto said with blunt honestly.

"I'm not your pawn!"

"Wrong! You are very much my pawn, because you have no choice but to be. You want to kill Itachi no matter what it takes, and killing Itachi before he gets to me makes you my pawn!" Naruto said.

"I'll just wait and kill him after he captures you than!" Sasuke retorted.

"What if he fails to capture me? What if I kill him instead? Than what? What happens to your revenge?" Naruto asked retorically.

"..."

"Exactly! Don't throw my kindness back at my face, I could have killed you and gone after Itachi myself, instead, I gave you a chance to fulffill you own dreams and ambitions. Stop looking for reasons to fight me, I have no interest in fighting you, I have more important things on my mind, bigger plans, and greater ambitions. And if I'm not mistaken, so do you? You have a clan to rebuild don't you?" Naruto asked.

"This is not over, we will meet again, and when we do, I will kill you...remember that!" Sasuke said as he activated version two cursed seal and flew away.

_'The dobe is too strong and unpredictable, If I fight him now I might sustain permanent damage and possibly get killed even. There's no guarantee that I'd win. I can't risk that happening, not until I've killed that man! And than, after that, I'll kill the dobe!' _Sasuke thought with determination.

"Do you think he'll be able to kill Itachi, Kabuto?" Naruto asked curiously.

"Oh, I'm sure of it, Sasuke will kill Itachi. You can count on it." Kabuto said with a tone laced with mystery.

"You seem to know something that I might not know about, why don't share some of that information with me?" Naruto asked casually, even though Kabuto knew that it was more of an order/demand than a request.

"It's quite a long story." Kabuto said.

"I figured as much, that's why...**kage bunshin no jutsu!**" Naruto said with a cross hand seal as another Naruto popped into existence next to him.

"I'm going to have to go back to Konoha and do some damage control. Even if I don't come back with Sasuke, the fact that I killed Orochimaru will be more than enough to distract them from any further inerogation on the matter concerning you and Sasuke's _**escape**_."

"I see, so you're gonna have a shadow clone stay behind and listen to my story huh. However...won't Konoha want any proof of Orochimaru's demise?" Kabuto asked curiously.

"I have the Kusanagi now in my possession, I managed to take control of it by pushing Orochimaru's chakra out of the sword during our battle. I am now it's wielder. Is that proof enough for you?" Naruto asked with a small smile.

"I guess it will have to do. But you know, when it comes to knowledge on Konoha and Akatsuki, you can think of me as a pirate's treasure. I don't only have information about Itachi, Sasuke, and the Uchiha Massacre. There are many other secrets that you might want to hear about, especially considering the nature and extent of your ambitions." Kabuto retorted.

"I know that. That is why I am going to leave a shadow clone with you. If I stay myself and listen it will take too long and the people in Konoha will get suspicious. I already learned alot from Sasori's journal, but I want to learn everything from you too. Anyway, we won't be seeing each other for quite a while now. But I'll send word to Uzushiogakura about the latest developments and make sure you and the Oto clan are welcomed and accomodated. My clone will teach you the reverse summoning seal and the code to enter Uzushiogakure when you're done talking. Also, if there are any people in the Oto clan that are worthy, than please try to recruit some for Akakitsune." Naruto instructed.

"Of course, I already have a few people in mind. However, they won't listen to me as I am, it is best that we keep the information about Orochimaru's demise a secret until I have...developed myself so to speak." Kabuto retorted.

"I see, so you want to get stronger first, if the people can acknowledge your power, than they will be more willing to listen to you...to accept you as their leader."

"Precisely." Kabuto answered.

"Okay fine. I'll let you handle this situation at your own discretion. Oh yes, I almost forget, also tell my clone everything that you know about Danzo. He's a dangerous man, but my information on him is limited to what Sasori knew of him. I'd like to hear your side of the story too so that I know how to deal with him when I inevitably encounter him." Naruto ordered.

"Don't worry too much Naruto-kun, by the time I'm done with you, you will know everything there is to know about everyone in the elemental nations, or at least, alot more than anyone else knows." Kabuto said with a confident smile.

"Okay, I will take my leave than. Until we meet again, my friend." Naruto said with a hand on Kabuto's shoulder.

"Until we meet again Naruto-kun...my friend." Kabuto retorted with a serious expression, also placing his right hand on Naruto's shoulder.

**End Chapter.**


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